


Blue Eyes Got Nothing On Me

by Basilintime



Category: Hellboy (Movies), Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Demons, Kaiju, M/M, Mind Control, OT3, Precursors, demon Tendo, fae, fae Newton, living tattoos sort of, mythical creatures, powers, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2019-11-14 00:10:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18041720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basilintime/pseuds/Basilintime
Summary: After the truth about the existence of Hellboy gets out; a new base of operations for the BPRD was established on the west coast of the USA in San Francisco in an attempt to widen their reach for handling paranormal incidents. Three new team members; Dr. Hermann Gottleib, Dr. Newton Geiszler and Tendo Choi make up the core of this division.When unusual anomalies start to appear around the globe the three of them join forces with Hellboy, Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman in an attempt to determine what this new threat may be and to put a stop to it.





	1. Sorry, Mr. President

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lazarwolff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazarwolff/gifts).



              “Hey guys?” Hermann sighed as he heard Newton’s voice come over the com as he stepped into the next room of the museum. It was after hours, the place dark and quiet around him, as he scanned the room for a moment. They had been brought in after one of the curators at the museum had gone missing after a new shipment of artifacts had been brought in. It was suspected that it was tied to the fact that one of those artifacts was a box once crafted by a blacksmith who would come to be known as ‘Saint Dunstan’.

              “Yes, darling?” Hermann responded back to Newton as he moved to one of the display cases. Still no box. Still no curator either. He looked quickly towards the door when he heard a footstep and saw Mako join him in the room.

              “I think I found the box. It’s definitely been opened but I still don’t see any sign of the curator.” Hermann pursed his lips, shared a look with Mako before they both started to head back out of the room.

              “Newton, where are you? Raleigh’s with you, right?” Tendo’s voice came over the radio next as Hermann hurried back towards where he’d last seen Newton before they’d parted ways. He could hear a note of concern in Tendo’s voice which wasn’t comforting and his desire to find where Newton had managed to stray increased tenfold. Tendo rarely sounded concerned without good reason.

              “I’m a couple of rooms away from him. I’ll be with him in just a moment.” Raleigh spoke sounding frustrated and a bit out of breath.

              “Oh, hey…I, um, found the curator, I think? Seems…totally normal and not at all acting weird…” Hermann gave a curse as the two responses came within moments of each other. He pushed as he heard a crash from somewhere a few rooms away as Mako managed to pass him up, already getting her gun drawn as Raleigh came into view from one of the other side rooms. They both moved to press themselves up on either side of the door that lead into what appeared to be part of a religious artifacts exhibit.

              Inside the room, he could see Newt who was attempting to dodge a number of items that were being lobbed in his direction by someone. Hermann didn’t wait like the other two had as he saw a large wooden sculpture that appeared to be of Saint Anthony Abbot went hurling towards Newton. Hermann threw out a hand towards the statue before it could hit and it stopped in mid-air, hanging there in front of Newt who had ducked down and wrapped his arms around his head as if that was going to do him any good.

              “You were supposed to stick with Mr. Becket.”

              “Yeah, well, got bored. Found the box, didn’t I?” Hermann rolled his eyes as he finally lowered his hand slowly and carefully, the statue moving along with it as Newt ducked to move to him. He was constantly doing this, rushing ahead or slipping away from the rest of them when they were supposed to stay in pairs.

              “I will not be trapped again!!” The voice bellowed somewhere to his right and Hermann pursed his lips as Newton reached him. There was the sound of something being thrown once more and he turned, pushing back against it with a frown, and stopping the vase and doing his best to let it drop back down to the floor carefully. He gave the thing that had once been the curator a disapproving frown. 

              “Just because you found the box does not meet you are justified in getting away from the group. You are reckless.”

              “I will destroy you for interfering!”

              “Dude, fortune favors the brave! I, the brave one in this equation, found the box which is fortunate cause this guy is like full on Exorcist right now.” Hermann grabbed Newton by the collar when another vase managed to slip past in the air and dragged him back out of the room where they wouldn’t be in the line of fire. Mako gave them both a disapproving look from her post by the door. They _were_ supposed to be dealing with this quietly. The demon’s bellowing from in the display room was anything but quiet.  

              “Tendo, Yancy. Are you two almost here? We are going to need some help with this.” Mako spoke into her radio with a measured look, barely flinching when something slammed against the other side of the wall near her head.  

              “A few minutes out. Tendo will be ahead of me.”

              “My trusted beast shall rise! Aid me in destroying these fools!” The demon’s voice boomed from inside the room as things finally stopped flying. A grin spread across Newton’s face as the rest of them gave a sigh as the sound of chanting started in the other room. It was summoning something and, if Tendo was correct in his earlier summation of who this particular demon was, it would be something scaly with two heads. Newton’s favorite.

              “I’m here! He hasn’t summoned the dragon yet, has he?” Tendo skidded into the room, looking impeccable despite apparently having sprinted to them from the other side of the museum, and Yancy in tow shortly after him. Hermann gave them an irritated look as a deafening sound came from inside the room that sounded like a very large and angry dragon. “I guess that answers that question. Newton, you take care of the lizard. Hermann, if you don’t mind doing your best to keep us from getting flattened by something unexpected. I’ll take care of Ualac. Get him back in his box. If I can’t do that one of you please nail him with one of those holy water bullets. Just…make sure not to get it on me, please?”

              “We won’t, Tendo. You three just get this under control before we have to make it messy, alright?” Yancy clapped Tendo on the shoulder for a moment before moving to join Raleigh by the door as he checked his gun was loaded and ready.

              Tendo peeked around into the room and winced as he took in whatever was happening inside. Something crashed once more and Newton started rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. His tattoos stood out vivid on his skin as he hummed a little tune. Mythical creatures climbed up around his arms, their names in script beneath them as part of the magic that held them at Newton’s beckon call, and he shook his hands out while tilting his head from side to side for a moment. The creatures seemed to grow a bit more vivid; a sense of light that seemed to spark within them.  

              Newton gave Hermann another bright grin full of mischief before he dived back into the room again. Hermann took a deep breath, tried to steady his own excitement and nerves as Tendo gave him a questioning look to see if he was ready. They entered together, Hermann hugging the back wall where he’d have the best view to ensure that he would be able to stop anything from falling or move something to block an exit if it was needed. Newton was already walking forward towards where Ualac stood with his dragon in front of him. It was smaller than Hermann feared it would be. Only, really, the size of a horse though it had two heads that snorted at Newton suspiciously.

              “Look at you, gorgeous! What exactly is your name?” The dragon reared back, opened one of its mouths, and a barrage of fire flung out in their direction. Tendo tackled Newton aside as Hermann ducked behind one of the displays. The fire alarm went off and water started to pour down from above them which would likely resort in more damage. Hermann peeked around the corner, relieved to see Newton and Tendo out of harms way, before twitching a hand towards one of the less valuable looking displays so it tilted and fell on top of Ualac.

              “I think its name is ‘son of a bitch’,” Tendo grumbled as he dragged Newton further behind one of the displays as the dragon gave an aggravated scream towards the ceiling.

              “Hey, that’s not nice. Just doing what they’re told. Maybe if you’d take care of your ‘brother’ there-“

              “Oh, he’s not my brother.”

              “Yeah, well, exorcise something then, will you?”

              “Both of you, please, can we focus on the task at hand?” Hermann shouted at them both as he motioned towards where Ualac was dragging himself out from under the display case. The dragon was stalking around, attempting to locate its quarry, as Hermann’s voice caught its attention. Hermann pressed his back against the display case to try and get out of sight.

              A few things happened then as Hermann stood stock still listening to try and tell what was happening in the room. Tendo called out towards Ualac, made something that Hermann was certain was a witty retort before he started his exorcism rights, something that most demons wouldn’t be able to preform but Tendo wasn’t just any wandering concubus.

              Newton called out for the dragon, trying to get its attention with just the barest hint of desperation in his voice.

              And, Hermann found himself staring at down the statue of St. Anthony Abbot who appeared to be wondering just how he got there as well. Hermann turned his head as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The snout of one of the dragon heads was poking around the corner and he took a deep breath, said an apology to Anthony in the back of his mind and mustered his strength to psychically toss the statue into the reptilian snout.

              There was another burst of fire, a furious roar and the case he was hiding behind shaking and tilting as if ready to land on top of him. Newton appeared around the other corner, grabbing and dragging Hermann out of the way before it could crash down, and they were left out in the open staring down the two furious dragon heads.

              “Now, now…there’s no need for that, baby. He just reacted out of fear. We’re cool, we’re fine.” Newton pushed Hermann behind him as they backed up and he tried cooing calmingly at the dragon as it stomped towards them. Hermann did his best to locate the next reasonable item for him to toss. He wasn’t worn out yet from the exertion it took but he needed to choose his battles wisely. “Hey, we’re cool. It’s cool. I’d really rather not have to kill you. You’ve been held against your will, I’m sure, wouldn’t you just like to go back to the fae realm, gorgeous?”

              “Newton, you are going to need to do more than just sweet talk it-“

              “Forgive me, I can’t just seduce anything and everything I want with a word like Tendo, Hermann, I’ve gotta have a minute, okay?” Hermann wasn’t entirely certain they had a minute with the way the right head of the dragon was rearing back. He gripped the back of Newton’s shirt, ready to throw _him_ if it came down to it, get him out of the way at least even though it would leave Hermann terribly exposed and likely dead.

              “I just need a name, sweetheart, and I can get you home. Send you back to roam free where you should be. Just give me a name.” Hermann’s grip tightened as the right head’s mouth opened while the left stayed low and tilted to look at Newton curiously.

              “Chynaxoirth.” The left head hissed the word and everything paused for a moment leaving Tendo’s voice speaking latin cutting through the curses of Ualac as the only sound. The right head looked down at its brethren as if it was completely caught off guard by its willingness to share.

              “Oof, that’s a mouthful but don’t worry about that.” Newton gave a grin as some of the tension seemed to drain out of him. The right head gave a roar as the left turn to snap at it when it tried to lash out at them. They tangled and the body of the dragon stumbled and fell as the two heads tussled. “Chynaxoirth, I send thee back to whence you came. Return home to remain until you are summoned next.”

              Newton’s hands clapped together in front of him and the water raining down on them seemed to stop for a moment, hung suspended as a flicker of blue sparked in the air. The portal into the fae realm opened beneath Chynaxoirth as its two heads continued to tussle and in a blink the dragon was gone. Hermann breathed a sigh of relief as Newton turned to look at him with a wide grin.

              “And you doubted me.”

              “Of course, I doubted you, now let’s help Tendo get this bastard back to ‘whence he came’.” Hermann rolled his eyes as he moved to step around to where they could see how Tendo was doing. He seemed to have a better grasp of his situation given he had a hand around Ualac’s throat. Ualac was looking at him both as if he wished he could kill or kiss him at the moment as Tendo recited the exorcism rights.

              Tendo’s real form was showing through as his hold on the human form he typically wore dropped. His facial features were similar, still handsome but now a hue of cold purple, while horns twisted up and back from his forehead. A tail twitched with irritation behind him as he gave Ualac a smile, speaking words between his teeth with a hiss.

              “I think he has it under control.”

              “Of course, _he_ does.” Hermann huffed as they stayed back so not to distract him or pulling Ualac’s focus from him. Hermann glanced for a moment to try and find just where his cane had gone in the ruckus as his leg gave an uncomfortable twinge. His hand searched for Newton’s, found it as he gripped it for support until Newton sidled up besides him and slid his arm around his waist. “Thank you.”

              “We’ll get it once he’s done. Just in case, you know, he doesn’t have this as much as he seems to.” Newton pouted a little but still let Hermann settle his weight against him. Perhaps he had been a little harsh in the moment. Newton hadn’t let them down once, he always seemed to come through, and he’d managed today without calling forth one of his own creatures. The inked creatures still held that spark, the almost _too_ real look to them, and Hermann knew he’d be struggling to calm them. He’d be adding a new one, a new beast he could call on for aid, tattooed onto his skin. _Chynaxoirth._

              “You should be ruling over…these weak beings…brother.”

              “Sorry, Mr. President, but you ain’t my brother and I’m doing just fine where I’m at.” Tendo gave a smile as he finished the rite. Ualac took one last attempted swipe at him as fire seemed to rise up from inside him, licking at the surface of his skin as it cracked and crumbled like lava seeping from scorched earth, and he dissipated into ash that quickly got washed away by the fire sprinklers. “Well, that was fun. You two good?”

              Tendo dusted his hands together to get rid of the soot left behind as he turned to look at them. His teeth were sharp when he gave them a smile, it would be a bit before he could change back to his human form, but he was handsome either way.

              “Well, honestly, that went better than the last time.” Yancy stepped into the doorway though he stayed out of the room to avoid the falling water. Raleigh and Mako gave each other a look behind him though they didn’t argue the point. Really, it had gone rather smoothly in comparison to some of their previous missions. It would have gone even smoother had the box not had the chance to be opened first. “The curator?”

              “Unfortunately, dead before we got here. Ualac isn’t nice to his vessels.” Tendo sighed, bent to scoop something up from the floor before making his way over to them. He offered Hermann his cane which he accepted with a smile though he continued to lean against Newton for support. “Shall we? I don’t know you about the rest of you but I’m famished.”

              “I’ll get the team called in to clean up. Pentecost will want a report when we get back but we can grab food on the way,” Raleigh said as he motioned for them to get moving. Tendo and Newt stuck close to his side as they made their way back out of the museum, BPRD agents pushing inside to get things cleaned up and feed the ‘official story’ to the security guards.

*

              “And you’re certain that the box is harmless now, Mr. Choi?” They were all seated in the conference room back in the San Francisco BPRD headquarters, AKA ‘Home’. Newton tapped his fingers on the table feeling like his skin was crawling. The built-up magic he’d called on in case he’d needed to summon one of the creatures inked on his arms had no place to run at the moment. It made him restless, drew his focus away from what was going on around them and to the creatures he’d had carefully etched into his skin as a permanent claim.

              He’d like to get his permanent claim on Chynaxoirth set in place as soon as possible. Right then if he could have. Instead, he was sitting in a room listening to Stacker drill them on how things had gone. Raleigh, Mako and Yancy weren’t in the room because Stacker preferred that they answer for themselves first. What was the point in having ‘Liaisons’ if they weren’t able to debrief for them?

              “Yeah, he’s not tied to it anymore. I mean, someone could summon him again if they chose, but they wouldn’t need the box and it doesn’t contain him anymore. He’ll have to claw his ass back out of hell if he wants to come around again.” Tendo was sitting on his right and his hand was on Newton’s knee under the table helping keep his nervous jittering to a minimum. Hermann was on his left, another hand on another knee, another attempt to keep him from bouncing out of his seat. Newton hated this part.

              “Alright. Well, good work, gentlemen. It appears only a few items suffered irreparable damage and given that the curator had already freed him by the time we got there it went well.” Stacker gave them a soft smile that Newton knew wasn’t a dismissal but meant one was coming. This was better than when he was disappointed in them. When they fucked up a mission Stacker kept them in here for hours talking to them about responsibility and being careful.

              Newton’s fingers drummed a nervous beat. Stacker seemed to watch him for a long moment and he felt Hermann’s hand tighten on his knee a little. A comforting squeeze but also a signal that he needed to hold it together for just a little while longer. His shoulder prickled near where he knew a griffin was carefully inked along the curve of it. The kelpie on his wrist still held some of that spark. He wouldn’t have called on the kelpie; it wouldn’t have been able to do much without a nearby body of water though maybe the puddled water from the fire sprinklers would have been enough? He resisted the urge to snap his fingers, resisted the urge to open a doorway and walk through it and let it drain him of this buzzing energy.

              “You are dismissed.”

              “Thank god.” Newton muttered the words as he pushed up abruptly from the table to start for the door. He shook his hands out, didn’t look back as he knew Tendo and Hermann were following, and he bolted out of the room to start towards their quarters. He wanted to change, cause his clothes were still damp and uncomfortable, and then he wanted to go out. He’d stop and see his tattoo artist to schedule an appointment to get Chynaxoirth put in place somewhere. If she wasn’t too busy, he’d rather do it tonight though he knew that wasn’t likely. She’d need to spend time on getting the details right. If they were exact it didn’t matter as much. The name was really the big deal but an accurate representation helped when summoning.  

              He reached their rooms first, pushing into the main shared space, though really it was all shared anymore. Hermann still liked having his office space and Newton’s old bedroom had been turned into his lab space when he had something to pick apart that was more his own curiosity than work related. Tendo’s room had become _the_ bedroom a while back and he bypassed the couch to go in there now to sort through his clothes.

              “Hey, help me a bit.” Tendo’s voice came from behind him as he’d apparently been the next quickest at getting back to their rooms. Newton stood to look at him expectantly and got caught up in a kiss that made his heartbeat quicken to a ridiculous pace. He felt the hint of Tendo’s sharp teeth as he relaxed into the kiss only for it to end far quicker than he would have liked. When he opened his eyes, he found Tendo looking like himself again, well, like the human version of himself. “Thanks.”

              “Welcome.” Newton grinned and pulled his shirt off so he could switch into a dry and relatively clean smelling t-shirt. Tendo moved to follow suit, changing out of the damp and soot-filled clothes to a fresh outfit that was fit for going out on the town with.

              “Where are we planning on going?” Hermann’s voice came from the doorway sounding tired as he asked the question. Newton paused, hands on his belt as the new pair of pants hung over his shoulder, and gave him a scrutinizing look. Hermann looked tired, which wasn’t surprising, he’d been tossing around large and heavy pieces of art just a short while ago.

              Newton found himself suddenly torn between his desire to be _out_ and his desire to make sure Hermann was _okay._ He got migraines sometimes after pushing himself too hard. Loud music and alcohol weren’t going to combine well with that.

              “We could keep it a little more lowkey? Maybe hit up the diner then take a stroll.” Tendo offered the suggestion from where he was peeking out of the closet. Newton nodded his head quickly in agreement.

              “I do not want to rain on your parade,” Hermann said with a light huff. Tendo shuffled for a moment in the closet and Newton started working on getting shimmied out of his wet jeans that clung to him even more than normal.

              “That’s not raining on our parade, my man, what would rain on our parade is you not coming with us.” Tendo snapped his suspenders into place as he reappeared looking pristine and put together. He moved over to Hermann to pull him into a brief kiss that seemed to drain some of that tension out of him as it had done for Newton. “Now, get changed, handsome.”

              Newton watched the two of them until he saw Hermann roll his eyes even as he tried to hide a smile. Once he knew that they were for sure going out, _all of them_ , like it should be he started to tug his clean jeans on while trying not to stumble and fall.

              “That works better if you take your boots off first, Newton.” Hermann shook his head as he moved to get changed himself and Newton just flipped him off. Still, he couldn’t get the pants to slide on as well as he’d gotten the other ones to slide off over his Doc Martens. Tendo tsked and moved to help him, Hermann watching them with a disapproving look as they struggled together to finally get him fully dressed.

              “Hey, can we stop by and see Fang first before food? Or grab food and take it with us to go see Fang? I really want to get this appointment set up to get our new pal added on.” Tendo was holding the waist band of his pants, tugging them up as Newton hopped trying to get them to finish sliding over his boots. His skin was itching and prickled with the magic of each name he’d had imbedded into it. “I mean, we’d end up near the cemetery. Its usually pretty quiet there for a walk.”

              “That is just fine, Newton, we can stop to see your tattoo artist first.” Tendo’s arms slid around his waist as the stood and waited for Hermann to finish getting ready. He was a little extra clingy after missions, touch starved in a sense that was very literal for him. Newton just leaned into it, looked down at his forearms in contemplation of where would be the best place for a really awesome two-headed dragon. Probably his shoulder would be best.

              “What _are_ you going to do when you run out of room?” Tendo rested his chin on that specific blank shoulder as he spoke, both of them taking in the carefully drawn lines of his tattoos. Their names were each spelled out beneath them in fancy script; bound them to him so no one else would be able to call on them and abuse them ever again.

              “I’ll have to convince Hermann to start getting tattoos.” Newton said it jokingly, felt Tendo’s laugh against his neck. He glanced up to find Hermann giving him a narrowed look that seemed as if he was trying to weigh whether Newton was really joking or not. There may have been a small part of him that was being serious.

              Hermann, despite being the most badass one out of the three of them, was also a hundred percent human. Tendo was all demon aside from, perhaps, his heart. Newton was…well, Newt was whatever he was that gave him the ability to wield names. His dad was human but his mom had dropped off the face of the planet when he was a baby. They had narrowed it down to some sort of fae.

              The point was, Hermann was seen as the easy target. And he’d prove them wrong every time but there was always that concern that the next thing thrown at him would be too big and he’d not have the mental fortitude to stop it. A mythical guard dog wouldn’t be a terrible thing.

              “You are not tattooing one of your ‘pets’ on me, Newton.” Hermann spoke primly as he huffed and straightened the clean sweater vest he’d just pulled on. That was an argument they didn’t need to get into again. Hermann pushing himself too far and ignoring its negative effects on him and Newton’s desire to safe guard him in some way. “Well, shall we? Before our babysitters get out of their debriefing?”

              “Oh, shit, you’re right.” Newton pushed ahead to step into the main room, scrambling to find his wallet where he’d left it. If they took too long there’d be no chance in escaping Raleigh, Yancy and Mako tailing along with them. He didn’t mind those three, really they were pretty cool as far as ‘Liaisons’ went but he hated feeling constantly supervised. “Come on, come on!”

              He motioned for Hermann and Tendo to hurry up as he opened the door out into the hall. He did a quick check and found it empty before they stepped out. They’d maybe just get away with having an evening on their own.

*

              “You hear from Abe recently?” Tendo had been watching Hermann closely for a few moments without him noticing as they sat in the waiting room of the tattoo shop. Newton was a few feet away talking with Fang about the details of the new ink. Hermann looked up from his phone where his attention had been focused to give an inquisitive hum. “Have you heard from Abe recently?”

              “Oh, no. We spoke a few weeks back but they were busy getting settled in. I had told him that it wasn’t going to last. Their ‘retirement’.” Hermann closed out whatever he’d been reading on his phone with a light shake of his head. He’d been a little distracted lately. Granted, they’d been slow which gave Hermann a lot of time to dwell on things. He could work himself up into a net of ideas if given the time to.

              Tendo slid a little closer to him, sat so their sides pressed together though he restrained himself from getting too comfortable. PDA wasn’t Hermann’s favorite and Tendo could respect that. He was a bit drained though, working an exorcism could do that to you especially when you were one of the things most people wanted exorcised.

              He gave his wrist a soft shake as he felt the sting of the cross on his rosary press against his skin. It didn’t bother him when he was feeling more human but the fight had been enough to drag some of that out of him. For a little while.

              They’d help bring it back to him. Tendo looked back up at Hermann with a question on his lips though it was quickly wiped away when he saw the gentle look of concern on Hermann’s face.

              “It seems to bother you more these last few times.” Hermann reached over and pressed his fingers lightly to Tendo’s wrist. It set his nerves on fire while also serving to send a soothing sense of calm through him. That small bit of contact helped ease some of the turmoil that could rise up after the end of a mission. “Do you feel it’s getting to be too much for you?”

              “Are you asking me to retire with you like Red did with Abe and Liz?” Tendo gave him a charming smile and Hermann rolled his eyes. He didn’t pull away though he directed his focus back towards Newton who was motioning excitedly to Fang as she sketched.

              “Please, as if any of us could handle being retired. Clearly, even Red couldn’t handle it. Abe did say he enjoyed getting the chance to relax and read, however.” Tendo felt a fond little flutter in his chest as he let his head rest on Hermann’s shoulder. He linked their hands together, PDA be damned, they were the only ones in the shop anyway and Fang had seen worse. “Don’t think we could get him to retire for anything.”

              “I’m fairly positive that he’d go crazy if he wasn’t able to work. Too much energy built up. He’s practically a portal himself the way he draws it in.” Tendo frowned a little as he watched Newton; he felt Hermann’s shoulders rise and fall in a sigh.

              Newton didn’t always have the best grasp on his abilities and he often pulled in too much magic for what he intended to do. It flowed right into him; that fae blood they were all certain ran through his veins. It wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fallout from all that pent-up energy. They’d be lucky if he unwound by morning if he didn’t cheat and use a bit of that energy towards something.

              “Or, he’d drive the two of us crazy. You know he’d insist on keeping some of the less dangerous ones around constantly. We’d have to go somewhere secluded with enough space for them to run about without being seen or causing trouble. Of course, we’d want to not be so entirely secluded that its difficult to get a hold of anything or get a bit of extra human interaction for you if you needed it.” Hermann spoke almost absently as if he was working out the details in his mind and they seemed like rather familiar calculations.

              “You’ve actually spent some time thinking this over, haven’t you?” Tendo hadn’t been serious when he asked the first time but he was now. It was true that they all thrived off their work but that didn’t mean some day they wouldn’t want to split away from being in danger all the time. Hermann gave a soft hum as he dropped his eyes down to his lap. More than just a few casual thoughts then. Tendo could feel the small swell of emotion as Hermann mulled it over; was familiar with the melancholy undercurrent that meant he was torn on the subject. “Hermann.”

              “Hey guys! All set! Fang’s gonna get me in next week. She had someone drop an appointment and it should work. We wanna grab some food?” Newton bounced up, neither of them realizing that he’d finished up with Fang before he was suddenly in front of them.

              “That sounds wonderful, darling. Are you ready to go, dear?” Hermann gave Tendo a look and he felt that inner turmoil. Newton would balk at the idea of them retiring; at least at this frame in time. There might come a day that he decides he’d be ready to take it easy and tuck away somewhere but there was every chance that it wouldn’t be before Hermann was gone. Because they would outlive him unless something managed to kill them first. Tendo would be the last of them but there was a good chance Newton would be around a couple of decades longer than Hermann.

              “Yeah, of course, sweetheart.” Tendo forced a smile before standing up and offering Hermann his hand. Newton tucked in on his other side, one of them on each of his arms, as they headed out of the shop. Fang gave them a wave before they made it out the door and onto the sidewalk to head towards their usual diner. 

*


	2. Well, that's a thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mission comes up. This time it's global and there's talk about having to call in 'Alpha Team' AKA Hellboy, Abe and Liz. 
> 
> The team heads out to examine one of the anomalies that have appeared all over the globe to get a read on things. Hermann seems to be effected by the anomaly that he dubs 'the Breach' and Newton has a close encounter of the painful kind with the creature that has hidden itself into the old tunnels beneath the city.

              Newton’s phone was going off and he gave a groan as he reached to try and find it to silence it. He looked at the number and rolled his eyes as he saw Raleigh’s name on the screen. His shoulder itched and he smacked at it absently to try and resist the urge to scratch at the almost healed tattoo. It had been a few weeks since they’re last mission and it had been quiet. Raleigh calling meant that something was likely up.

              Newt debated answering but silenced the call instead as he felt Tendo’s arm tighten around him. He tossed the phone aside and cuddled back down in the covers. He hugged Hermann, pressing his face against his shoulder as he curled back against Tendo. They’d finally talked Hermann into going with them to a club the night before and they’d all maybe had a little more than they should have. Whatever Raleigh wanted could wait for a little bit longer.

              There were a few seconds of blissful silence before Hermann’s phone went off. Tendo gave a groan this time as he moved to get up and Newton tried to scramble to pull him back down as his warmth disappeared.

              “Newt, my man.” Tendo mumbled but didn’t resist too much. Newton smiled as he felt a kiss pressed against the side of his head.

              “If it was actually urgent they’d be knocking-“

              Newton cursed as he heard the knock on the door out in the main room that interrupted his words. It was a bit muffled by the distanced but was unmistakable either way. Tendo sighed and Newton felt him move to get up at the same time that Hermann pushed gently at his arms to pull free from his hold. He huffed as he sat up, instantly regretted that he sat up so quickly as his head gave a spin and he felt back onto the bed once more. He watched the other two, well, he watched the two blurry shapes that were the other two as they moved to get going.

              Something _big_ must have happened. Or, one of the had fucked up last night and Newt didn’t remember it. The knocking came against more urgently this time and Tendo hopped his way out of the bedroom; dragging a sheet along with him to wrap around himself. Newton slapped a hand towards the side table and felt around for his glasses for a few seconds. He knocked something over and winced though he kept feeling around in an attempt to find them until Hermann finally dropped them onto his chest.

              “Thanks.” Newton fumbled to get the glasses in place and managed to catch Hermann rolling of his eyes. They both fell silent when they heard Raleigh’s voice carry in from the main area, listening intently for some indication of what was going on.

              “Sorry to wake you. Pentecost wants all of us in the library to debrief now.” Newton made a face as he heard Raleigh’s voice. Held his hand up, thumb and fingers held together in a representation of the guy’s big mouth, and flapped it at Hermann.

              “ _You better be in there ASAP. I’m Raleigh, blahblahblah!_ ” Newton kept his voice quiet as he mocked Raleigh. Felt a small sense of pride as he saw Hermann give him a look that was total amusement despite his best attempts to act like it wasn’t. Newton knew better though. “ _Don’t roll your eyes at me, Gottlieb, I’m a very serious and burdened war hero. I think we should just punch everything with bullets!_ ”

              “Newt, please.” Hermann gave a soft huff of laughter as he lightly smacked at hand puppet Raleigh. Newton grinned as Hermann reached for his cane.

              “How exactly do you punch things with bullets? Does that take a special apparatus?” They both froze as Raleigh’s voice came from the doorway and Newton had to try really hard to resist flipping him off. Raleigh wasn’t actually that bad of a babysitter. He was a lot like his brother who tended to turn a blind eye to some of their sneaking out as long as they kept it all under control. He was just a little too ‘perfect buff male hero’ for Newt’s liking.

              “Please, forgive him, I’d make an excuse but I believe you’ve heard them all by this point.” Hermann recovered quicker than Newton did as he turned to give Raleigh an apologetic smile. Newton did flip him off then as he tried to work up enough desire to actually get up off the bed. 

              “Yeah, it’s fine. I’m used to it at this point. We need to get moving though; this one’s serious. They’re talking about pulling in Alpha Team.”

              “What?! Why? We don’t need Big Red and Juicy Fruit coming here! This is our territory!” Newton suddenly found that burst of energy he needed as he scrambled off the bed leaving the remaining sheets a mess as Raleigh leaned against their doorframe.

              “I still don’t get why you insist on calling Abe ‘Juicy Fruit’. We will be out in a few moments, Mr. Becket, once we have a chance to change or…get dressed in general in Mr. Choi’s case.” Hermann grabbed what Newton would call a ‘shawl’ but was apparently just a ‘sweater’ according to him.

              “I call him that because HB is Big Red, you know, like the gum? I’m sticking with a theme, Hermann. What the hell can’t they trust us with that those two have to come in?” Newton grabbed the shirt he’d been wearing the night before and gave it a tentative sniff test before pulling it on. He debated changing into some jeans but decided if Hermann was going full jammies and a shawl, he could stick with the sweatpants at least for the debriefing.

              “I’m sure there’s a good reason if they feel we need the help,” Hermann said pointedly as he tossed Tendo a shirt. 

              “They don’t know exactly what it is yet but there’s some unusual anomalies that have appeared along the lay lines. It’s global; I suppose that’s enough to want all hands-on deck.” Raleigh gave a small shrug as he responded; his expression turning a bit embarrassed as Tendo dropped the sheet to pull on a pair of jeans. Raleigh turned so he was facing out into the main area as if the idea that they’d need some privacy had just occurred to him.

              “We have nothing more than ‘anomaly’?” Hermann asked the question as he moved to step around Raleigh to speak with him since he’d done all the ‘changing’ he apparently felt was necessary. “Surely we have more to go on than that.”

              “Pentecost wants to go over all of that. They’ve not done much to test just what effects the things have but there’s at least one report of something coming out of one of them.” Newton grabbed his shoes to shove them on before he pushed around Raleigh to point a finger at his too perfectly chiseled chest.

              “What came out of it?”

              “Pentecost will have the details on that as well.”

              “Well, what exactly do you have the details on?” Raleigh raised his eyebrows at him before clapping him on the shoulder as Tendo emerged somehow looking like a goth mystic’s fantasy.

              “I have the details that you three need to be in the conference room, Dr. Geiszler.” Newton huffed as Raleigh moved to follow Tendo for the door. Hermann gave him a ‘I told you so’ look even though he hadn’t _told_ Newton anything. Not recently. He had maybe told him that Raleigh wasn’t going to be phased by his brashness several times before now but that was besides the point. Newton held the door for Hermann before closing it behind them all. He still didn’t think they needed Big Red to come ‘help’.

*

              _Good morning and thank you for joining us as we have a breaking news report. Reports have started to pour in of unusual anomalies that have been popping up around the globe. The first reports were on an anomaly that had appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan. That was only three hours ago and since then we have already received details on further anomalies found in Hong Kong, Sydney, Lima, and Anchorage. As of a few moments ago we had also received information that an anomaly had been identified within the San Francisco area near Civic Center._

_Officials are warning the public to avoid the area while the now famous Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense investigates. The BPRD came into the public eye several years ago during an incident where we came under attack by another realm and it was revealed that the illusive but long rumored Hellboy truly did exist._

_No word on whether Hellboy himself will be participating in the investigations at the time. San Francisco has its own branch of the BPRD that works locally though any supernatural agents that may work out of that location have remained anonymous._

*

              Tendo frowned as he rewatched the clip from the newscast again as the van pulled to a stop. Pentecost had given them the location just north of Civic Center during their meeting and sent them out to try and gather some information. They were supposed to go in, try to get a read on the anomaly and then attempt to track the location of the thing that had reportedly emerged from it. They’d gotten a description from some eye witness accounts as it had wreaked havoc in the area before disappearing down into the old unground tunnel systems. Newton had been a buzz with excitement ever since then and Tendo glanced at him as he slammed the book he’d been digging through closed.

              “Are we there?”

              “Give us a few seconds. It’s in this area but we need to find the best approach,” Yancy said from the driver’s seat. Newton huffed and Tendo reached to rest a hand on his knee as it jittered nervously. This would feel like any typical mission if it wasn’t for the fact that it was on a global scale and that they were having to bring in Hellboy, Abe, Liz and their team were coming in to help. It had been years since they’d seen something this big and though Tendo had complete faith that they could handle whatever came at them, he felt a bit on edge. “Here we are. Let’s get a move on.”

              They had pulled the van part way down an alley that had yellow police tape fluttering down the end near the back of a parking garage. Newton was immediately out of his seat to push the door open to step out into the early morning light. Tendo caught Hermann’s eyes and could see the worry on his face as they shifted to file out into the alleyway. Hermann worried the most out of all of them and there was no doubt he’d be fretting until they knew what was going on.

              “Remember; we are only to engage if we are certain that it can be contained.” Mako directed the comment at Newton more than anyone else as they lingered. Mako, Raleigh and Yancy all grabbed their weapons of choice in case they got in a tough spot.

              “Yeah, yeah.” Newton waved her off carelessly and Tendo shook his head as he stepped up beside him near the front of the van. Rested a hand on the small of his back as he could feel that draw of magical energy spiraling in towards Newton. It was something that would be amplified given they were practically on top of the lay lines.

              “Don’t overload yourself, sweetheart.” Tendo leaned in close to Newton so he could press a kiss against his cheek; tried to draw on some of that excitement in.

              “I’ll be fine. I’ve got this.” Newton waved him off a little though he didn’t shrug him off entirely as he leaned to press close to him. Tendo gave a skeptical hum as he gave Newton’s ass a soft smack which earned him a laugh. He knew that Newton was going to charge himself up like a battery despite there being no guarantee it would be needed. If that happened, they’d find a way for him to burn it off again though; as always.

              “Come on. We should get moving before someone questions us being here.” Raleigh moved ahead to take the lead as they started back towards where that police tape fluttered. Newton pushed to the front instantly though he had the sense not to barge too far ahead of Raleigh. They’d both been reprimanded for leaving the other during the last job and it seemed they were attempting to take it to heart.

              “He is being careless.” Hermann’s arm linked with his gently as he came to walk besides him. Tendo laced their fingers together as he shrugged softly.

              “He knows not to go overboard, Hermann.”

              Hermann gave him a noncommittal sound in response to the suggestion that Newton knew his limits. They both knew that Newton could get a bit too far ahead of himself on things. He was even more prone to it when it seemed they might be discovering something new. And, as far as they could tell, this might be as new of a thing that they’d come across so far.

              They came around the corner and they both paused as the parking garage loomed into view. Tendo frowned, able to sense an energy coming off the place that felt like electricity in the air. He glanced at Hermann to say something and noticed the frown on his face looked more like pain than concern.

              “Do you feel that?” Newton called back to them from where another yellow ribbon had been pulled across to block the area off. ‘Caution’ was clearly printed on a second of it where it cut behind him; a warning they would try to heed.

              “I do.” Hermann answered and Tendo’s hand tightened a little as he watched him. He wanted to pull him back when Hermann took a step closer to the garage. “It’s like it’s warping the space around it somehow; taking up room.”

              Tendo caught Newton’s eyes and saw that same sense of uncertainty there. Despite being more attune than others Hermann wasn’t usually heavily influenced by things like this. Newton had stopped him at the line, a hand gently taking his wrist to keep Hermann from moving further without the rest of them.

              “It’s taking up room?” Mako spoke carefully as she scanned the building. The mood had shifted a little, all of them aware that this was _unusual._ Tendo did a quick check for any movement inside the building as he moved up to join Newton and Hermann; purposefully kept his pace even and relaxed. There was a glow from inside, a faint yellow as if sunlight was seeping through the building, but no sign of movement.

              “Can you tell where it’s at?” Tendo asked as Hermann pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to quell a headache. They flanked Hermann; Newton on one side and Tendo on the other.

              “Roughly. In the same way I can typically get a sense for the genal amount of space an object takes up. It’s like it’s a physical thing but if I focus too directly on it there’s some sort of feedback…you two can relax, I am just fine.” Hermann huffed a little and gave them both a frustrated look before lifting the yellow tape up and ducking beneath it to move towards the garage. “Let’s get inside and determine what this thing is, shall we?”

              Newton was looking to him for some direction and Tendo sighed but nodded his head towards the building. He lifted the tape so Newton could duck under and scramble to catch up with Hermann.

              “You two do what you need to do. We’ll keep an eye on him in case this thing affects him too heavily.” Yancy fell in step with him as the moved into the parking garage and spoke quietly to him. There were a few damaged cars scattered here and there though the place was mostly empty. The ones that had been left behind clearly weren’t functional anymore and several appeared as if they’d been pushed back or tossed. Tendo watched Hermann’s back as the group paused ahead of them with that sunrise glow on them as they found the anomaly near a wall marked ‘Elevators’ in large letters.

              “Thanks.” He responded to Yancy in a distracted manner as the elevators themselves and anomaly came into view. It looked like a crack in the air itself as it sparked momentarily. It looked like something had stabbed the fabric of the place and torn it open leaving a black hole behind lined in brilliant golden fissures that shined bright.

              “Well, that’s a thing.” They reached the group who had all stopped a few feet away and Yancy took a few extra steps past them. Tendo caught him by the back of the shirt, pulled him to a stop so he stayed in line with the rest of them.

              “Best not to get too close.” Tendo gave a small shake of his head as Yancy glanced back at him and nodded while backing up.

              Tendo could already tell it wasn’t demonic, not unless they’d worked up something new down below. There was no sign of a ritual here and nothing in the area gave off an aura like something had been attached to it. All that seemed out of place here was the crack in space and the fact that Hermann clearly felt ill. He had stopped further back than the rest of them, looked pale and nauseous. Mako was already moving over to him to suggest them move further away.

              “You two do what you need.” Yancy seemed to have pulled himself out of that initial state of awe as he patted Tendo on the shoulder. He caught Raleigh’s attention and nodded towards where Mako was leading Hermann and they moved to flank.

              “Let’s get this done quickly, sweetheart.” Tendo said with a sigh as Newton stepped up beside him with a worried look on his face.  

*

              “It’s not fae. I mean, I guess I can’t rule out the possibility entirely but this doesn’t feel or taste like fae at all.” Newton called out towards them, head barely visible on the other side of the breach from them. That was what Hermann had decided to call it; it reminded him of jagged holes torn in the sides of ships at sea. A breach in the hull of their world.

              “Taste?” Raleigh had a skeptical look on his face as he muttered the word to himself. Hermann wasn’t dense, he could recognize that their handlers had been carefully flanking him.

              Being close to it had been an unpleasant experience. He’d felt sick and as if his head had been thrumming with that same crackling energy it was putting out. When Newton opened a portal to the fae realm it didn’t affect him like this. That alone seemed to make it clear that this was something entirely different. At least now that there was some distance the pain had receded back to a severe but tolerable headache.

              Hermann frowned as he thought he heard a sound from somewhere behind them. He shifted to look around the pillar he’d been leaning against and saw a momentary flicker of blue near an exit sign. He reached to tug at Mako’s shirt sleeve to get her attention as he eyed the damage to the area. It had clearly been one of the stairwells but the opening looked as if something had rammed through it. Whatever the blue light had been had disappeared back into the resulting gaping hole.

              “I believe our unwelcome visitor may have gone through there.” Mako leaned to look around the pillar with him before she gave him a searching look.

              “Do you think we should give pursuit?” She spoke quietly, the both of them attempting not to draw attention just yet though she began to check her gear.

              “Um, yeah, we should.” Newton’s voice came from somewhere near Hermann’s elbow and he jumped a little before giving him a stern look. Newton gave him a quick grin of amusement though he reached out to straighten Hermann’s collar a little with fidgeting fingers. It was a little sign, a tell of his that meant Newton was concerned though he was trying to downplay it. “Here I’ll go check it out first.”

              Hermann pursed his lips but let him go ahead as Newton skipped towards the opening. Raleigh trailed behind him as they waited to see if anything would emerge. Newton stopped just a few feet from the opening, leaning with his full body and on tip toes to try and peek inside without getting too close.

              “It looks like it went down into the tunnels like they said. This isn’t usually an entrance but, well, I think it made its own.”

              “He’s excited.” Yancy said with a hint of amusement in his voice. “I guess we better get going.”  

              Where the stairwell had collapsed there was a slab of floor angled downwards that they carefully slid their way down. One direction of the old tunnel was completely caved in by the thing’s descent but the other was still open and accessible leading off into the dark.

*

              "Let's all, please, stay with our handlers this time if we end up having to split up?" Hermann looked directly at him as they all turned on their flashlights. Newton fought the impulse to roll his eyes because he knew Hermann wasn’t feeling well. He was maybe extremely worried about that actually.

              Still though, you wander off one time, maybe twice, and suddenly you're the one getting lectures.

              "I'll keep him in my sights, I promise." Raleigh responded when he didn't and Newton did roll his eyes this time. He just wanted to see this thing; the reports were making it sound like some bio-luminescent dragon and Newton  _wanted to see it._ “You’ll want to stick close. I think we’re in some of the old cistern tunnels here. Does that seem right to you, Yanc?”

              “Yeah, locations about right. There shouldn’t been too far for it to have gone if it is down here since that way’s cut off.” The collapsed floor had cut off one direction of the tunnel leaving a clear path ahead of them, at least for the moment.

              "Let's also keep trackers on and stay in contact if we have to split up. There might be more than our new friend down here." Mako reached over to press the button on his device and Newton gave her a betrayed look. Resisted that urge to turn it back off just to be contrary. He didn't really like the whole 'everyone knows my every move' aspect of the trackers though it had saved his butt a few times. "Shall we go?" 

              "Yeah, let’s find this bitch,” Tendo said and Newt appreciated that there seemed to be some actual enthusiasm in his voice. "Newt, remember this thing’s probably not fae, my man." Enthusiasm that Tendo managed to immediately kill with his cautioning tone. Newt gave him an exasperated look and saw Tendo nod slightly towards Hermann.

              Right, Hermann. Hermann, who was looking more than a little irritated now as they were clearly all talking around him. Newt got that so he turned on his heel and started down the tunnel without any further pussy footing around it.

              "I know, that is exactly what's so fascinating about it. We haven't seen this sort of rift before, much less a mass appearance of them, which means this might just be something entirely new. Unique and amazing and all ours to discover." Newton could tell the others had followed because of their footsteps behind them. He glanced back towards Hermann for just a second but he seemed…okay so far. Better than he had upstairs when they’d first come up on the anomaly.  

              "It also means we have no idea how to kill it," Raleigh spoke up and Newton flipped him off. Ended up tripping on something in the process and Tendo caught him before he could fall to the muddy floor. 

              "We don't need to kill it." He gave Tendo a quick flash of a thankful smile as he focused forward.

              "We may have to kill it, Newt." Yancy cautioned gently as they reached a split off in the path. Newton flipped him off too as Yancy moved to peer down one of the tunnels. “If we’re in the tunnel system I think we are these split off towards some cisterns. Raleigh, do you remember?”  

              "That sounds about right. How about we go right?" Raleigh nodded towards the tunnel and Newton wanted to argue. He didn't though because he would have chosen right as well. Can't go wrong when you go right; not to mention it was the direction that  _felt_  different. Newton wondered, not for the first time, if Raleigh had some sort of aptitude in tracking magic.

              "We'll go left then if you two want to hang back. Hermann might be the best equipped to help if things go south given, we don't know what this thing is." Mako gave a short nod of her head in response as Yancy started towards the other side. Hermann made a bit of a face but Raleigh was already moving down the tunnel on the right. Newton gave him a quick wave before moving after him. It wasn’t like he could let Raleigh wander off on his own after all.  

              Raleigh has stopped a little way down the tunnel and was waiting for him expectantly as Newton moved to get back in the lead. This tunnel looked more like a cave than a corridor aside from its purposefully flat and even floor and Newton hoped that he didn't end up being disappointed by what was at the end. 

*

 

              Raleigh moved as cautiously as he could while still keeping up with Newton. It didn't seem to matter how many missions they went on; the guy never learned the art of being stealthy. Sometimes he envied Yancy and Mako given that Tendo and Hermann both typically showed at least an ounce of caution in their lives. 

              He lifted his gun when the sound of something large moving echoed down the hall towards them from the door they were quickly approaching. The cistern seemed to be illuminated inside with a blue light and even Newt bothered to slow down to wait for him to catch up. Whatever was in there moved again, the light moving with it as Raleigh took the lead. 

              "Okay, so, what are we  _not_  going to do?" Newton spoke in a hushed tone but his condescension was loud and clear as he looked at Raleigh from over his glasses. 

              "Be stupid." 

              "Shoot first. Same thing. Let me try and see if it's something I can reason with first, okay? I get that it terrorized the streets for a while up there but it had just been spat out into an unfamiliar world. It was probably just scared." Raleigh sighed, tried to see if he could get a view of whatever was moving inside through the small opening of the door. 

              "I'm not going to go in and just shoot the thing without asking questions first. But, if this goes south and it's not going to just agree to be one of your pets I'm going to do what needs to be done." 

              "Fine, fine. Just, hang back a sec, okay?" Newton pushed the door open far enough to slid inside and Raleigh debated if he should just call for back up now. He'd seen Newton talk enough monsters down from wanting to rampage through the city to trust him though. And if the others all rushed in it could make things worse so he'd trust him to know if he was getting in over his head or not. He moved to position himself so he could see inside, see Newton's back as he approached whatever was in there with him. 

              It was large and as Raleigh carefully pushed the door open a little more to get a good look, he knew it wasn't a fae creature. Its attention was already on Newton, tail twitching with irritation as the claw grip on the end of it flexed. It had horns, or eye stalks maybe, on the top of its dead and when it opened its mouth to let loose a growl, he saw that iridescent blue glow inside. 

              "Hey there, beautiful. What are you? I mean, look at you, you're..." Newton rambled a little and made a gesture with his hands is if his mind was exploding as he took a few slow steps towards the thing. It tilted its head as if it was sizing him up but didn't seem immediately aggressive. Perhaps it had just been scared when it first came through. 

              "I don't know where you came from, buddy, but I can help you get back home. Try to at least. Did you end up here on accident? This isn't really where you bel-" Newton gave a startled yelp as the thing's tail whipped around, grabbing him up with that claw to pull him closer to it. Raleigh pushed the door open as it pinned him to the ground in front of it on a small area that was raised in the floor, its face lowered down close.

              "Geiszler." 

              "Don't shoot. It's just curious...I think. I'm okay, it isn't hurting me. Well, okay, that kind of hurt but I don't think it's  _trying_ to hurt me." Newton threw him a thumbs up but Raleigh kept his gun trained on the thing. Hoped that Newton wasn't wrong as it gave a low growl in his direction. Raleigh moved slowly, tried to get eyes on Newton, and finally saw him come into view as the things tail let him go. 

Newton laid on his back between the thing’s front feet, boxed in as it leaned down close and its jaws split open to bathe him in that glow. 

              "Okay, gorgeous, my friend there isn't going to hurt you but I need you to just calm down. Maybe let me get up. Oh hey, what?" The thing’s mouth opened and a tongue unfurled from inside it. It glowed brilliantly and Raleigh felt his nerves spike as he lifted a hand up to his comm, thinking now might be a good time to call in backup. 

              "Geiszler?" 

              "It's cool, I think it's just...wow...that's really pretty...I..." Newton waved him away as the tongue split, unfurled like petals and looking like a lily in bloom. Three tendrils reached out from the end of it and started to twist down towards Newton who seemed fascinated at first but panic seemed to set in as the things reached for him. "I...uh, Rah-" The tendrils shot forward suddenly, pressing themselves against Newton's temples and a scream ripped out of him as his back arched. 

              "Newt!" Raleigh opened fire, aiming for the thing's eyes as he emptied his clip. He was making contact but it didn't seem to be phasing the thing. Newton's screams had turned into choked whimpers as his eyes rolled back in his head. Raleigh called for back-up as he reloaded, cursed himself for not reacting quicker and trusting the Newton had it under control, and started firing off again hoping one of the bullets would find a weak spot and get the thing off of him. He tried to push in closer, tried to get close enough to snag a hold of Newton to try and get him away from the thing but its tail whipped wildly towards him. Created a barrier between them.

*

 

              Hermann pursed his lips as he carefully leaned back against the wall hoping he wouldn't be getting his clothes too dirty. Not that the cuff of his pants hadn’t already gotten muddy from the sludge on the floor. He didn't like this, had hoped they wouldn't need to split up, but this seemed the best-case scenario at least. It was controlled and neither of them would be getting too far away. His temples pounded with some shifted pressure in the air like they had near the breach, however, and he knew whatever they were hunting was down here with them somewhere. 

              "Are you feeling alright?" Mako leaned against the wall beside him with a small frown on her face. Hermann smiled as he nodded, pressed a couple fingers against his temple to try and dull some of the pounding. "Is it like before?" 

              "Yes. I think it's the spatial distortion from that breach. It the only thing I have been able to think of though I'm going to need to explore it further once we're back at the lab." Hermann sighed as he leaned his head back against the wall. 

              "Do you feel it is going to be a problem?" Mako spoke carefully. It wasn't an accusation or threat to remove him from the team. It was concern and it was a legitimate concern. 

              "I don't believe so. Not yet, anyway, but I will keep you posted if that changes." Hermann closed his eyes, listened and tried to gauge whether the pounding in his head seemed to favor either direction. This did nothing but make the pounding worse and he felt a spike of frustration. He appreciated that Yancy had stated the reason for having him be the one to hang back was that he was most useful. He knew that it was quite the opposite, however, he was the weakest link on their team. 

"Please do; and if there is anything you feel I could do that would help..." 

              "Of course, Ms. Mori." Hermann smiled softly as he reached to find her hand to give it a gentle squeeze. She returned the gesture silently as they stood any waited in companionable silence. He wished he could be of more use, that he could learn to do more with his ability. Had attempted to do so; pushed himself to try and influence more than just solid object. To push the bounds of the size and weight of what he could lift with his mind. "Ms. Mori?"

              "Yes, Dr. Gottlieb?" 

              Hermann opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of shots firing down the hall Newton and Raleigh had followed. He felt his heart drop and was running before Raleigh's voice even came over the radio. 

              "We need back up now!" There were more gunfire and Hermann felt sick with panic. Mako was just ahead of him, gun already drawn as they pushed into the cistern that was full of almost blindingly bright blue light. At first Hermann couldn't see Newton, just Raleigh and the thing he was showering with bullets. 

              And then he saw him, lying at the feet of the beast, eyes rolled back into his head as his body convulsed until the three tendrils of the creature's tongue finally retreated as Mako joined in on the volley. Newton laid limp and still at the creature's feet as it roared in their direction. 

              "Hermann, duck!" Raleigh called out at him sharply but his mind took too long to catch up with the warning as the tail connected with him. He was tossed tumbling to the ground by the blow.

*

 

              They had just reached the empty cistern when Raleigh’s call for help came through. By the time they had both barreled back through the intersection, Mako and Hermann were gone. Tendo pushed into the room ahead of Yancy as Mako and Raleigh both fired at the creature. He saw Hermann first as he staggered to his feet looking dazed and in pain. Tendo followed his line of sight and saw Newton.

              “You go try to get to them. We’ll see if we can distract it,” Yancy gave him a light shove before raising his shotgun to join in the fray with his brother and Mako. The sound of the shotgun in the cistern was resounding and the sound more than anything seemed to rattle it as Tendo bolted to try to dodge a wide swing of the thing’s tail. Hermann was fully back on his feet and working around the edge of the room towards Newton who was convulsing.

              Tendo focused there, pushed forward as he slid under another swipe of that tail that tried to grapple him. He needed it off of Newton, to stop whatever it was doing to him. Felt a rage in his chest at the thought of losing either Newt or Hermann to this thing. He pushed himself up the stairs, using his speed to his advantage as he pulled blades from their sheaths at his hips.

              The creature turned its head towards him as he reached the top of the small platform and he ducked, twisting under its open jaw and dragging the blades through its tongue. It screamed, rearing back as blue luminescent blood spurted from the wound as the tongue fell off to the side. Hermann pushed forward then, a bit clumsy as he seemed to be favoring his left side more than normal, to pull Newton further away. Tendo wanted to go to them, to check on them both, but the creature was regaining its focus and its anger as it turned to focus on him.

              “Yeah, well, I’m a bit pissed off too, brother.” Tendo shifted, set off along the wall away from where Hermann was trying to check on Newt. Give him some time to make certain Newton was alright as they tried to figure out how to deal with this thing.

              It gave chase after him, tail cracking against the wall as Tendo tried to find some opening. One of Yancy’s shots seemed to find a weakness near its jaw in another splatter of blue. Mako had given up on her gun as she pulled a small circular device from her belt and managed to peg it to the thing’s tail one of the times it swung past.

              “Clear!” She shouted and they all did their best to part away as the thing beeped for a second and then went off. Tendo’s ears rang with the sound of the explosive, the device had done its job as the tail fell useless, only partially attached. Tendo moved to try and finish the job when he felt the sudden surge of magic in the air. The creature seemed to notice it too as it turned sharply towards Hermann and Newton.

              “Everyone, move back!” Tendo shouted the warning to the others as he saw Newton move to clap his hands together to complete the summon. The portal started small, a swirling blue mass beneath the creature as it started to gap larger. Tendo pushed himself back towards the wall as he watched and the portal widened further. They could get far back enough against the walls but the creature was too large to avoid it as its partially severed tail drooped and then fell into it.

              It fought and scrabbled against the pull of it as the hole continued to grow wider and then one of Newton’s pets reached up. The dobhar-chu looked almost like an otter if otters were giant and covered in a mixture of fur and scales. It latched onto the creature’s rear leg, pulling and dragging it further down into the portal. It turned to fight against this new threat and they both disappeared into that portal before it quickly snapped closed once more.

              Newton’s portal had opened wide enough that its sudden collapse sent a small shockwave of magic through the space, the walls reverberating with it before silence finally fell. Tendo counted that everyone was accounted for even as he rushed to cross the room with where Hermann had Newton cradled across his lap. He dropped his blades as he kneeled down next to them, tried to figure out if they were both alright.

              “Didn’t wanna…kill it…” Newton muttered the words though he curled in close to Hermann’s chest. His words were slurred and stilted and Tendo could tell when he passed out by how he slumped against Hermann limply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dobhar-chu is from Irish mythology and is described as a giant mix between a dog/otter/fish that is aggressive that lives in bodies of water. It is also known as the Irish-Crocodile or Sea Dog. Newton would love it.


	3. The family's back together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shorter interlude chapter as the team gathers together heading to their next destination in Anchorage. 
> 
> Newt and Hermann both deal with the fall out of their injuries from their run in with the creature. Pentecost asked Newt to try and learn more about the newly dubbed 'kaiju'. Hellboy, Liz and Abe make their first appearances.

              "We now have reports of these creatures-"

              "Kaiju." Newton interjected and then cringed under Stacker's stern expression though it seemed, maybe, a little softer than his usual scolding glare. Granted, Newton knew he looked a mess. He still felt like a mess. His hands were shaking and he still had blood on his shirt from where his nose had bled.

              "We have reports that these kaiju have come through the breaches in Sydney and Anchorage. We’ll be meeting Alpha in Anchorage tomorrow morning once we have some time to recoup and come up with a plan of action.” 

              "The breach here is still active. Couldn't something else still come through?" Newton glanced in Raleigh's direction, fidgeted a little more. He'd been the one to carry Newton out of the tunnels while Tendo had helped Hermann. 

              He really would prefer to be with them right then. Hermann had still been wrapping up with Caitlin when he’d been called to Stacker’s office. She had been hesitant to let him go but they’d already run the tests already and they’d come back…relatively okay. Newton was sure it would be fine and that he’d feel fine if he got the chance to rest. His real concern was Hermann and whether he was going to be okay. It’d been Newt’s lapse in judgement that had gotten him hurt and he worried it would be serious.

              "There is that possibility and we will be leaving a team of agents here to monitor it including Dr. Lightcap. She should be able to alert us to any changes and will also be running some experiments to determine just where the breach goes. What I need you two to do is tell me exactly what happened down there." Stacker sat back in his chair giving them an expectant look. Newton dropped his eyes, picked at the dirt beneath his fingernails for a few moments nervously.

              "We already told you, sir. We came across the thing, it attacked-"

              "It didn't really attack, well, okay it sort of attacked me but it wasn't doing it to hurt me, well, it wasn't doing it to  _not_  hurt me either. I..." Newton glanced up, found Stacker looking at him expectantly and dropped his eyes again as he took a deep breath. "They were trying to learn."

              "They?" Raleigh gave him a confused look, almost like he didn't think Newton knew what he was talking about. 

              "Yes, they. It...It, Otachi-"

              "Otachi?" Stacker interrupted him this time and Newton gave a soft whine of frustration. His head still felt scrambled and he wished they'd just let him sort his words out without having to interject. 

              "Otachi is the kaiju who was in the tunnels. The kaiju is the species though that's more a name that fit my understanding and less likely what they actually call themselves.  _They_ are a hive mind. There's something or someone driving them but I couldn't really make that part out, they were trying to figure out what I was while I was trying to figure out what they were and it was confusing. They need something though, here, on earth, on our plane of existence. It's why they've opened the breaches and why they are coming through them. They're searching for something...I-I couldn't get that much."

              "Geiszler." Raleigh interrupted him again and he shook his head. 

              "Whatever they're looking for though they're pretty sure it's here and if they find it then...I don't know. I didn't get that far, it was extremely confusing and painful and-"

              "Newt, you're bleeding." He blinked and gave Raleigh a confused look as he held out a tissue he'd taken from a box on Stacker's desk. Newton looked down at himself and saw a drop of blood land fresh on his shirt. He snatched the tissue from Raleigh and pressed it against his nose. 

              "This sounds like more reason to move on this quickly. Agent Geiszler, if we managed to catch one of these things do you think you could get more information from it? It would be a great help if we knew whether this was an invasion or simply a search party with no intent of harm." 

              "You mean let another one of those things hook itself up to him?" Newton glanced between the two of them when Raleigh questioned Stacker. He loved a good argument as much as the next person but just then he was floundering. He just wanted to go check on Hermann and then maybe lie down for fifty years and get some sleep. 

              "Yeah, possibly. If we find another one and it's willing to 'hook itself up to me'. Can I go?" Some of that tension cut as Newton pushed himself up from his chair. It screeched across the floor, caught on the rug and almost tipped over before he could catch it. 

              "Yes, you are dismissed Agent Geiszler. We'll have someone come collect you when it's time for you all to get ready to leave." 

*

              “Is there something else, Agent Becket?” Raleigh had stayed sitting once Geiszler was out of the room. Pentecost wasn’t typically careless, always had a reason behind what he asked or directed them to do, but he couldn’t help but feel there was some error in judgement on this one. 

              “You can’t ask him to do that again. Honestly, we’re probably lucky he’s not dead.” 

              “I assure you I would not ask him if it wasn’t necessary, Agent Becket. At this point, however, Agent Geiszler is our best lead on figuring out what this is.” Pentecost sighed as he stood up from his desk, a clear dismissal, but Raleigh wasn’t satisfied with just that. He stood too, moved to blocked Pentecost’s path towards his door. 

              “There are other ways. You have Sapien coming in, he can-“

              “And it would be just as much of a risk for him as it is for Agent Geiszler just without any guarantee that he would be successful. Now, Agent Becket, I have somewhere to be.” 

              “There’s no guarantee with Geiszler either.” 

              “Agent Becket, I do not request things of my team without concern for their well-being. Nor do I need to explain myself to you but given you clearly are not going to be satisfied until I do, I will do us both a favor of enlightening you. You said yourself that our weapons hardly touched this ‘Otachi’. That two thirds of our team, the best team we’ve got despite what Alpha believes, were incapacitated by it. We don’t know why they are here but until it’s proven that they are simply searching for their lost keys I need to take precautions. Attempting to speak with them, even if it may be a risk to one of my people, seems to be the least destructive way to go about doing so. Now, are we finished here?” 

              “Yes sir.” Raleigh had to bite his tongue from saying more. He was right but that didn’t mean Raleigh had to like it. Pentecost stepped around him to his door and opened it; waited for Raleigh expectantly to leave before closing and locking it behind them. 

*

              “They’re going to show up acting like they’re in charge.” Hermann gave a quiet sigh as Newton ranted behind him. However, it was a relief that Newton had it in him to complain at all given what they’d gone through the night before. When he had come back from his meeting with Pentecost, he’d been jittery and quiet; only really asking if Hermann was okay repeated before they’d all tried to get some rest.

              Now, they were trying to get loaded up on the plane for their trip up towards Anchorage. The rest of their team would be joining them once they’d gotten debriefed and then they’d be on their way to meet up with Alpha team.

              Hermann shifted to lift his bag into one of the bins and had to set it back down as discreetly as he could as the muscles in his back spasmed painfully. He stood for a few seconds as he waited for it to calm so he could try again. He’d been fortunate that it hadn’t been worse. Soft tissue damage but no broken bones. His entire right side was a bruise that stretched from his ribs down to into his hip but it would be manageable. He’d been trying to downplay how much it hurt. He knew that there was concern that he’d be deadweight during the mission but he was determined not to be. If anything, this only confirmed his need to expand and push his abilities further so he could be more help.

              “Sweetheart, hate to say it, but they will be.” Tendo stepped up besides Hermann and took his bag from him to lift up into the compartment. Hermann gave a quiet sigh though he whispered a thank you to him quietly. “Now, let’s grab the good seats while we’ve got the chance.”

              “Shit, you’re right.” Newton fumbled with his own bag that he’d had half open as he tried to dig for snacks inside of it. Shoved it into place with the zipper still open and a packet of twizzlers in his hands as he moved to snag the seats towards the front of the plane. It was the BPRD’s private plane, open and set up for allowing individual areas, but the seats near the front were known to be the best. Newton scurried up towards them so that he could flop down before anyone else got on board.

              “How are you feeling, love?” Hermann felt Tendo’s arm slip around his waist and he leaned back to rest against him for a second.

              “I’m a bit sore but otherwise I’m just fine.” Hermann said quietly as he watched Newton sneak into one of the front compartments where they had stored some pillows and blankets for longer flights. He yanked some out messily before moving to spread them out along the front three seats.

              “You’re a terrible liar.” Tendo pressed a kiss against the back of his neck and Hermann gave a hum of disagreement. It wasn’t a fair assessment when the person you were trying to convince could get a general sort of sense of how you were feeling. “What do you think? Is he okay?”

              “He seems better than he did earlier but…I think we should keep an eye on him. Make sure he’s not suffering any further effects.” Hermann kept his voice low as Newton turned to look back at them over the tops of the seats and gave them a ‘what gives’ shrug. Tendo sighed against the back of his neck, a chill shoot down Hermann’s spine that wasn’t entirely unpleasant, before they both shifted to pull away from each other and head towards the front section of the plane.

              “I got you an extra pillow and blanket.” Newton patted the window seat beside him, a rare concession for him to make, as Hermann slid carefully into the empty spot.

              He looked out the window to see the others starting towards the plane which meant they’d soon be heading out. He felt Newton shift beside him and lifted his hands from his lap automatically. Newton’s legs came to rest across his lap as he leaned back against Tendo in the sit on his other side. The chairs reclined back but Newton rarely did things the proper way and Hermann wasn’t going to complain as he gently patted Newt’s knee.

              “Love you two.” Newton spoke as he gave an exaggerated yawn that Hermann suspected was only partially an act. They really hadn’t been given much time to rest before being rounded up to board the plane.

              “Love you two.” Tendo and him echoed the sentiment almost in unison as the rest of the team finally joined them on board.

*

              “Hey there, Big Red, see you put on a few pounds during your time off. Working on your dad bod?”

              Newt’s voice carried over to him from across the front lobby of what was supposed to be their ‘discreet’ lodging. It looked more like an abandoned hunting lodge but it would serve its purpose since they’d hopefully only be there a few more days. Tendo kept an eye on Newton who patted his own stomach to emphasis his words.

              “Hey, maybe I am. Heard you had a close encounter of the tentacle kind? How’d that go?” Hellboy reached over to jab at Newton’s temple and knocked his glasses a little askew in the process.

              It wasn’t that they didn’t get along. No, the problem was that Hellboy and Newton got along a little too well but in the same sense as two honey badgers deciding to be friends. It typically seemed to be the two of them just snarling at each other if you weren’t familiar with them. That snarling was starting early as Newton started to go off about their encounter with the kaiju.

              “Those two can’t be in a room together for five seconds and they’re already at it?” Tendo smiled as he turned to find Liz carrying her bag inside. He reached to take it from her as she shook her head in Newt and Hellboy’s direction. Alpha team had just gotten in about an hour after they’d arrived.

              “Well, things never change. How are you doing?”

              “Oh, you know. We’re back but things are a bit better at least.” Liz gave a soft laugh that blended into a sigh as she leaned to press a soft kiss against his cheek. Tendo caught Hellboy giving him a suspicious look and gave him a wide grin in response. They weren’t precisely friends. They were family, sure, but Hellboy had never trusted him and to be honest Tendo couldn’t bring himself to feel it was worth his time to try and sway that.

              “Where’s Hermann?” Liz looked around with a hand resting on his shoulder as Abe made his way inside talking with Mako. Tendo pursed his lips at the question and glanced back towards the stairs. Hermann had fallen asleep shortly after they’d gotten inside their room and neither of them had had the heart to wake him up. Despite his best attempts Tendo could tell he was still in pain even with the medication Caitlin had sent with him.

              “He’s resting though I know he’d love to see you before we have to get going on this thing. Let me show you up to your room. How are the kids doing?” Tendo gave a nod towards the stairs, managed to catch Newton’s eyes as he indicated where they were headed.

              “They are…a handful. I mean, I knew they were going to be trouble even before they were running around everywhere, but now we’re lucky if we can keep track of them for five minutes.”

              “Well, sounds like they are their father’s kids.”

              “Yeah, yeah they are.” Liz spoke with a laugh in her voice as they started up the stairs.

*

              Newton watched Tendo start up the stairs with Liz as Hellboy gave some sort of rousing commentary on his debriefing of their encounter with the kaiju. Now that they were all here, they’d be getting to work soon; heading after the second kaiju that had come through. He hadn’t told Hermann or Tendo yet what Pentecost had asked him to do. As far as he knew, Raleigh was the only one that knew. It made him feel nervous but also a bit excited because it had been…an experience to say the least. He’d bridged the gap of communication with an entirely new species. Granted, it had hurt (a lot) and it had been extremely confusing and more than just a little bit terrifying but still!

              He shifted uncomfortably as he scratched at his side, a perpetual itch he hadn’t been able to shake most of the flight here. It was over his ribs and it felt like something was twitching around under his skin where he couldn’t reach it.

              “I think I should follow them. Make sure I know where the rooms at.” Big Red was distracted as he watched Tendo and Liz disappear up the stairs. Wouldn’t be the first time he assumed someone was trying to woo Liz. Wouldn’t be the first time he assumed _Tendo_ specifically was trying to woo Liz despite the fact that Tendo clearly had it pretty good himself.

              “Yeah, you go do that, Red Snapper. I’ve gotta check on some things before we have to get to work.” Newton smacked Hellboy on the arm in encouragement and got jokingly shoved back. He stumbled but managed not to fall. He would have retaliated but that itch seemed even more persistent now and Newton felt that exhausted shaky feeling settling back in. Hellboy walked away and Newton scratched at the spot once more. Wondered if he’d pushed it too much and he needed to go lay back down like Hermann had done.

              “Are you alright, Newt?” Abe called over to him from where he was talking with Mako. Newton nodded, moved to start up the stairs because the last thing he wanted was Abe getting into his head. Making a big deal out of this when he probably just needed some Benadryl and a rest.

              “Yeah, I’m good. Fine!” He waved as Mako looked about ready to follow him. A calculated expression on her face as he stumbled up the stairs. Newton turned to hurry back to their room before anyone else decided to ask question. That itch was gnawing at him now and he wondered if he was having an allergic reaction to something. He’d take a shower, wash the area and see if he could figure out what was going on. Maybe he’d been bit by something?

              Newton almost busted into the bedroom and then remembered that Hermann was sleeping. Slowed himself down before he slammed the door shut and closed it slowly instead to be as quiet as possible. He tiptoed towards the bathroom feeling a bit desperate as he slid inside and closed the door most of the way before turning on the light.

              He started to tug at his clothes to get them off. Watched for any sign of a spider or something else that maybe had gotten into his shirt. Once he’d gotten it off, he turned towards the mirror so he could try and get a look at the spot.

              One of his tattoos stretched across his ribs, it was an older one that had healed a long time ago, but he wouldn’t have known that looking at it now. The skin around his tattoo was irritated and along the edges Newton could see what almost looked like bruising if it wasn’t the wrong shade of blue. Small capillaries of bioluminescent blue surround his dobhar-chu.

              “Newt? Is that you?” Hermann’s groggy voice came through the door and Newton immediately dropped his arm and tried to angle himself so the tattoo wasn’t visible.

              “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.” Newton tried to meter his voice and did a poor job of it as he heard the tightness in his tone. Hermann nudged the door open a little further to look in at him at the sound of it; concern clear on his face. He looked worn out and Newton felt a small stab of worry all over again. Hermann was hurt because of Newt’s carelessness and here he was obviously worrying about him.

              “Are you alright?”          

              “Yeah, yeah. Just…I think I’m still a bit of a mess from before. I was going to grab a shower to see if it helped and then I’ll be out. You going to get a bit more rest?” Newton fidgeted, hoped Hermann couldn’t see that irritation on his skin. He knew he should tell him. Knew that it was better that the told them now but he couldn’t bring himself to. They had a job to do and there was already so much to worry about. That little voice in the back of his mind was telling him it would do no good to add to all of it.

              “I may go and check in with the others since I’m up now. Are you certain-“

              “Yeah, I’m good.” Hermann gave a terse nod though Newton could tell he was hesitant to go. He tried giving him a smile, hoped any waffling of it would be written off as fatigue.

              “I’ll check in on you in a little while. Perhaps around time for us to grab some dinner?” Newton nodded, gave him a little wave as Hermann finally closed the door behind him once more and he was able to breathe. He stepped back up to the mirror and looked at the veining around the tattoo for a moment longer before turning the shower on as hot as he could stand it and climbing inside.          


	4. Fortune Favors the Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The whole team moves to find the breach near Anchorage and the kaiju that came through it. Things go about as well as one can expect and Raleigh starts to suspect something it wrong with Newton.

          The breach was similar to the one in San Francisco, same cracked appearance and sunshine glow to it. Hermann was keeping his distance, which wasn't difficult given it was out in the center of the creek, but he could still feel it in the back of his mind. It felt wrong to him, at least that was the best way to describe it, and it constantly seemed to shift between being a physical thing and being 'other'. 

          "The main team will be staying here to see if we can collect any information off this thing. Red and Geiszler will head out to see if they can find where the kaiju has gone. It busted up a ski resort near here-"

          "There were no deaths, though." Hermann pursed his lips as Newton chimed in. He pulled his eyes away from that golden glow that danced beneath the churning waters of the creek to look at him. He'd been agitated again since they'd headed out. Fingers drumming against whatever surface he could find and constant shifting and adjustment of his pack as if it was uncomfortable and making his skin crawl. 

          "Agent Geiszler is correct, there were no deaths, but a large part of that is because the place is closed up for the season." Herc, the head of Alpha team and the Eastern division, gave Newton a patient look. "We'll send Red with Geiszler to see if they can track the kaiju and attempt to make contact. Peaceful contact unless it lashes out first, understood?" 

          "Yeah, yeah. Find the thing, let Tiny get friendly with it and then pulverize it when that doesn't work. We got it, can we go?"

          "Red." Herc leveled that patient look at Hellboy now, stood and waited as the silence stretched out until Hellboy acknowledged him. 

          "Yeah, understood, yes sir."

          Hermann gripped his cane a little tighter as Herc gave a nod and broke up the briefing. He didn't like a single thing about this plan. It made him nervous that they were splitting up, angry that he only found out that Pentecost had asked Newton to try and communicate with the kaiju again this morning and he felt irritated by the thrum in the back of his head. That awareness that shouldn't be there. 

          "You stick with Red and Raleigh. Don't take any extra risks." Hermann's hand reached and found Newton's as Tendo spoke quietly on his other side. 

          "I'm not a kid, you know, I'll be fine." Newton gave a frustrated huff though Hermann felt his hold tighten on his hand. Saw how he reached out to straight Tendo's already perfectly straight collar. San Francisco had been too close and they had learned too little; too many unknowns still left in the equation. 

          "We understand that, darling, we simply want you to err on the side of caution, please?" Hermann pressed a kiss against Newton's temple as they heard Raleigh call over that it was time for them to head out. He was hesitant to let him go and it was clear he wasn't the only one as Tendo gathered them both in for a hug; Newton in the center of it. 

          "Shout if you need anything." Tendo held them both tight for a long moment before letting go. Newton slipped out from between them and gave a nervous grin and thumbs up. 

          "I will.You two be careful too." 

          "He'll be safe. Red will keep an eye on him." Tendo spoke quietly in his ear and Hermann felt his arm slip around his waist. He didn't think Tendo sounded particularly convinced of this himself. It wasn't that Hellboy didn't care but he often didn't think before he acted. Didn't always pay attention to all the factors. He had best hope that he didn't forget that Newton was a factor. 

          "I should help Abe. Will you be keeping the parameter?" Hermann sighed as he shifted closer to Tendo rather than away from him. Let his head rest for a moment against his shoulder as he closed his eyes against the pounding. Tendo held him a little tighter as he rested his cheek against the top of Hermann's head. 

          "Yeah. Are you going to be okay? This thing seems to be giving you a hell of a time, sweetheart." 

          "Yes, I will be quite alright. If we could just figure out how to close the bloody things." Hermann opened his eyes as he pulled away from Tendo. He knew if he allowed himself to he'd simply stay there, resting against him and dozing off in an attempt to ignore the headache and nausea that plagued him. The worry that settled inside him at the thought of Newton being out there without them and expected to undergo another traumatic event to try and communicate. 

          "We should get to work, love."    

*

          Raleigh kept an eye on Geiszler and Red as they moved along the edge of the creek. The sun hadn't set yet but down here it may as well have with the long shadows stretching and making it dark. Chuck kept step with him but he hadn't said more than two words the entire time. It was a silence that had established itself six month ago but was a lot harder to ignore now that they were face to face.

          "You sure you're not part Tooth fairy?" 

          "Of course, I'm not part tooth fairy, you ass."

          Raleigh had heard that those two were friends but they'd been nothing but antagonistic towards each other since Alpha team had arrived. Granted, given his own relationships he could understand how that didn't always mean two people didn't care for each other. He glanced towards Chuck who was pointedly not looking at him. 

          "You sure? I've met a few and I can see the resemblance. You're about the right height." Geiszler flipped HB off before stomping ahead a few feet as Red laughed. Raleigh hoped Mako was having better luck than they were back with the team as they attempted to get data on the breach. Part of him was thankful for the fact they hadn't any clear signs the kaiju had been around recently. He still didn't feel settled with the plan for Geiszler to try and communicate with it again. 

          "So, we're just not going to talk then?" Raleigh spoke quietly, keeping his voice low with the intention of the other two not hearing him. Chuck spared him a glance this time but it was brief. 

          "Nothing to talk about."

          "Didn't realize what happened in Boston was nothing." 

          "Yeah, well, it was, mate. Sorry to disappoint you." Raleigh could see the tension in Chuck's jaw as he spoke. He was always like a wire pulled to tight; ready to snap if too much pressure was put on him. Raleigh knew better than to be the one that pushed but he was tired of acting like nothing had happened at all. 

          "I wouldn't say it was nothing, Chuck. You told me that you loved me."

          "Yeah, and you didn't. End of story." 

          "Did you actually mean it or was it the drinks talking?" Raleigh had to stop himself short when Chuck halted his steps. They stood for a moment, let the other two get ahead of them a little way before Chuck rounded on him. 

          "Why don't you just drop it? It was a long time ago-"

          "It was six months ago-"

          "And you're right. I was drunk. End of story, sorry if that hurts your feelings,  _mate_." 

          "Chuck..." Raleigh sighed as Chuck turned away and started after HB and Geiszler before they could get too far ahead. He tried to tamper down some of his own frustration as he adjusted his pack, starting forward as he scanned their surroundings. Something caught his eye as they moved around a bend in the creek, a patch of trees that looked different as he slowed his steps. 

          "You know, not all of us need to be looming giants, Big Red." Geiszler's voice carried back to him as Raleigh frowned up at the treetops trying to tell what the difference was. 

          "Hey, hold up for a second."

          Chuck gave him an irritated glance over his shoulder until he seemed to realize Raleigh was talking to all of them. He called ahead to HB and Geiszler to get them to stop while looking up at the patch of trees as well. 

          They were approaching the start of the gorge the river ran through, feeding out into the valley of the park the breach was located in. The walls grew a bit steeper around them here but just on the other side of the creek the trees had been damaged by something. Branches were broken and dangling high up off the ground and a few trees even appeared to have been knocked over by whatever had shouldered through.

          "It's going to be hard to get up that slope. Should we keep moving ahead and see if it comes back down towards the water?" Raleigh tried to follow the path of destruction with his eyes but it disappeared behind the lush foliage and craggy exterior. Chuck had backtracked enough to be at his side as they tried to determine which direction it had gone. 

          "Are we going to find this thing or not?" HB called back towards them as Raleigh waited for Chuck's answer. There was little chance they'd all make it up the hill with how steep and rocky it was but HB might be able to do it. He’d be on his own then which had the potential to be bad for everyone involved. 

          “Let’s keep moving forward, mate.” Chuck called back as he moved to start along the creek once more. 

*

          "I'm afraid I cannot get any closer to it. Well, I could. But it'd likely be the last thing I did." Abe was still about waist deep in the water as he spoke with just a hint of amusement in his voice over his joke. 

          Hermann had pushed himself to get closer to the breach in an attempt to offer any sort of input. Mako had gotten him a chair and sat him up so that he could look over the read outs of their equipment in an attempt to make heads or tails of the data. 

          "It definitely seems to be a portal to somewhere. However, that hardly seems to be anything we did not know already." Abe moved inland a little further towards him so he didn't have to speak so loudly. Something Hermann greatly appreciated. 

          "Its energy read outs are exceedingly different than those we've encountered before. It took quite a large amount of power to open it but, now that it is open, it seems to be stable." Liwen, Abe's handler, spoke up from where she stood on the back of the river besides Mako. They had both pulled on waist high waders over their uniforms and had been helping Abe try to get some readings. 

          "Most portals are opened through either ceremony or the use of magic, in the case of Agent Geiszler's abilities, but these seem almost quantum in their design. The literal fabric of our universe has been interrupted but just in this one particular spot. It's really rather fascinating." 

          "Are you theorizing it is a wormhole then? Some sort of space travel?" Hermann looked over the top of his laptop at Abe who gave a soft shrug; a quizzical tilt of his head.

          "Not necessarily space travel. It may still be inter-dimensional, just to a dimension we have not encountered before." 

          "Is that why it's affecting you, do you think? It is more a physical thing than a magical construct. Would you be able to affect it?" Liwen set her tablet down on the makeshift table as Hermann eyed the breach that lay just beneath the surface of the water in contemplation. 

          "There is the possibility but it would greatly exceed what I've been capable of before. I work best with solid objects though I've been able to manipulate liquids as well. Given the uncertainty in how one would describe a wormhole within our knowledge of natural states of matter and the fact we have no clue where it even leads..." 

          "It would be a risk; one I don't think you should take."

          Hermann could hear the protective tone in Mako’s voice as she shook her head. Liwen was still looking at him expectantly though and Hermann _had_ wanted to try to push the limits. There was a probability, no matter how small, that he could solve their problems now with a simple experiment. 

          “I believe someone very dear to me would say that ‘Fortune favors the brave’, Ms. Mori. We will never know if we don’t try.” 

*

          Geiszler had fallen back to walk alongside him as they tried to trace the path the kaiju had carved through the woods. It had crossed back over to their side of the creek at some point and they were picking their way along the broken branches. 

          "You think the others are okay back at the breach? Should we let them know we might have found it in case it makes a run for i-woah!!" 

          Raleigh caught Geiszler's elbow as he slid on the damp rocks so they didn't both end up in the river. Chuck and HB looked back at them, Hellboy giving a laugh as Newton tried to right himself. 

          "I'll give them a warning, just in case, but I think we're going to be the ones with our hands full. You sure you wanna do this? Try and let it do whatever that last one did?" 

          He watched Newton readjust his pack, shifting his shoulders a few times like it was uncomfortable on him. Something had seemed off since San Fran but part of Raleigh wanted to dismiss it as an expected side effect. Geiszler had been roughed up pretty badly and Raleigh knew he felt responsible for Gottlieb getting hurt too. 

          "I mean if we can I'd rather we find a way to communicate with them and assure we're not going to be starting a war or wiping out a species for no reason. I do kind of wish that, ya know..."

          "It didn't mean having your head scrambled?" Raleigh offered when Newton gestured to his temple for a moment. 

          "Yeah, basically, but not much of a choice, dude. Geez, this guy must be bigger than the last. Look how high that damage goes." Newton scrambled ahead of him as some of the broken trees came more into view. 

          "Heads up, we think we're getting close to it. Keep comms on in case it makes a run in your direction." Raleigh's jaw muscles tensed a bit as he spoke into his comm and looked up at the broken tree limbs. Some of the trunks even appeared to be fractured a few feet above them like the thing had forced its way through. 

          There was a cracking of trees ahead of them that made Raleigh and Chuck both react by raising their weapons in that direction. The foliage was either too dense or the kaiju still too far back to see in the darkened shadows of the woods. 

          "Hey, small fry, what the hell are you doing?" 

          Raleigh glanced over towards where Newton had clamored up the rocks. Hellboy was just below him, attention half on Geiszler and half in the direction the sound had come from. 

          Geiszler was just standing there, stock still and staring off into the trees. Raleigh started in his direction as he finally seemed to gain some awareness, shaking his head before looking down at HB with a confused look.

          "Something's wrong."

          Geiszler looked up at him and for the moment he was able to see Raleigh was certain his eyes had a blue glow to them. And then the ground shook beneath them, a force rocketing through it from behind that caused the trees to bend and shake. From the opposite direction ahead of them, an infuriated roar answered back as something came barreling through the trees along side of them. It tore past, sending several of trunks toppling as the group tried to dodge out of the way. 

          "It's headed back towards the breach. Red get after it, mate!" Chuck called out as Raleigh managed to find his footing. He looked back towards Newt who appeared like he'd slid a decent distance down the rocky hill before HB had caught him. 

          "You alright, little buddy?" Hellboy got Geiszler back on his feet, steadying him as he got his glasses straightened back out.

          "Yeah, yeah I'm good." 

          "Good, cause I've got a beasty to catch." HB grinned as he turned and started off down the trail left by the kaiju as it had barreled past them. Chuck was already on is radio calling back to the others in an attempt to warn them before the thing was on top of them.  

          "Shao, the kaiju is headed in your direction and fast. Red is in pursuit but be ready. Come on, you two, that things moving fast!" 

          "You sure you're okay?" Raleigh asked quietly as he carefully picked his way through fallen branches to where Geiszler was standing. He seemed steady enough but Raleigh saw the shaking in his hands as he dusted himself off. There was a momentary flicker of emotion on his face, something that Raleigh was certain was fear, but it was gone too quickly as Geiszler shrugged him off. 

          "Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, Leatherback is gonna reach them fast." Newton ducked around him, stumbling down the rest of the embankment as he started off after Chuck at a run. Raleigh watched him for just a moment with an uneasy feeling before he moved to catch up as well. He hoped that Leatherback was a new nickname for HB but part of him knew it wasn't. 

*

          Something had happened. Tendo knew _that_ much. He blinked as he came to, lying on the mossy floor of the forest feeling like he'd just been bowled over by a train. As he sat up he saw he'd lost hold of his illusion and his demon form was showing. 

He tried to gain his bearings as he pulled himself up to his feet. Saw Liz a few feet away doing the same, fire licking at her fingertips though she seemed in control. They'd been talking; Tendo, Liz, Yancy and Jules when something had loudly cracked behind them near the breach and it had felt like an explosion went off. 

          Tendo turned towards the shore now as he felt a sense of dread settling in his chest. Equipment was scattered and people were picking themselves up. Mako and Liwen were both clamoring to their feet in the shallows of the creek but Tendo couldn't see Hermann. 

          "Hermann!" He shouted for him as he started down towards the water trying to catch any sign of him. Tendo looked to Mako, tried to gauge if she knew where he was, but she was wading into the water frantically as she called for him too. 

          "I've got him! I think we're both alright it was just a bit of a shock. Ha! Shocking." Abe's voice came from far closer than Tendo had expected and he looked down the embankment beside him to find both Abe and Hermann sitting in the creek. 

          "That was far more successful than I thought it would be," Hermann muttered in a dazed manner as he slumped against Abe's side. He didn't look alright to Tendo; pale, shaky and soaking wet from the creek water. 

          "What the hell did you do?" Tendo started down the slope of the creek to help Abe get Hermann up. His feet had just hit the water when the world started shaking, a deafening roar of snapping trees and heavy footfalls barreling down upon them. 

          The kaiju tore out of the trees without warning, the general height of the towering trunks that it was so easily snapping. It stood up on its hind legs and beat at its chest a couple of times like a gorilla posturing for a fight. 

          Two seconds later a much smaller ape came running into view huffing for breath and Hellboy launched himself at the kaiju. Dirt and debris showered down on them and Tendo grabbed hold of Abe and Hermann to pull them closer to the embankment while moving further upstream out of the direct line of fire.

          He heard the team start firing and then you could hear nothing but the sound of guns and the roar of the kaiju. Yancy slid down beside them suddenly, splashing into the water as he dodged a large tree branch the flew over their heads.

          "Stay with them. If you have to, head further upstream. I've gotta help Red!" 

          "Got it!" Yancy had to yell to be heard over the fight but Tendo felt relieved knowing that he'd be looking after Hermann and Abe. He hoisted himself up out of the river and took a second to try and survey the battle. Chuck had appeared a short way to his left, opened fire as the thing slammed Red into the ground. 

          Tendo did a quick scan to try and see where Newton was. Tried to reassure himself that him and Raleigh were just trailing behind the other two. The kaiju was ripping through their small camp and though Red was keeping it busy there were definitely be other casualties. 

          "Tendo!" Liz caught his attention as she ran over to him, Jules trailing close behind. "Get it in the water. I might be able to do something with it in the water but if I try now the whole forest might go up! Tell Red!" 

          "Yeah...I'll try." Tendo retrieved his blades, watched for an opening and then charged at the kaiju. Red was currently on its head, punching at a line of frills that seemed to run from there and down its spine.

          Tendo watched the iridescent blue glow build up along that line of appendages that started to shake and vibrate as the kaiju roared once more. He ducked as the brightness intensified into some kind of electrical shock that blasted Red off its head and flying into the trees.

          "Perfect." 

          Tendo looked as the kaiju started back towards the trees. Took the chance to move as he darted towards it, jumped up onto its back as he dug one blade into the base of the spiny appendages and started dragging it upwards. The kaiju buck wildly, hands reached and trying to grab him as he dodged back off the side. 

          He ran then, headed towards the river where the glow of the breach was still visible, as the kaiju gave an enraged bellow behind him. He could tell it was gaining on him quickly but didn't look back. Tried to keep pushing forward even as he hit the water and it tried to slow him down. 

          "Now, Liz, now!" He shouted it before he dived under the water and blue fire ignited above the surface as the glow of the breach sparked off towards his right. He could have handled the heat of the fire, that wasn't what he was worried about, what he was concerned about was the kaiju above him that even as it burned slammed its fist down into the water in an attempt to grab at him. 

          Tendo pulled himself along the bottom, the shallow water growing hot and turbulent around him until he managed to get some distance and burst to the surface. He turned as he gasped for air, Liz standing in the center of the clearing created by the kaiju as she focused her flames on it. It had realized the danger ow, was attempting to roll into the creak to douse the fire with no luck. It gave a strangled cry, tried moving towards the source of the heat only to be pushed back by it. 

          "Nooo! No, don't kill it! Don't!" Newton's voice was audible even above it all as he screamed rough and panicked. He was running towards the kaiju as if he thought he could help it somehow and Liz immediately cut off the fire. It stayed flickering around her and the kaiju's body for a short while longer. 

          Newton's steps slowed to a stop as he stared at the kaiju's body, Raleigh close behind him looking ready to grab a hold of him if he moved towards the smoking corpse any further. Tendo pushed to his feet as Newton rounded on Liz instead, marched towards her looking angry in a way he'd rarely seen. 

          "Why did you kill it?! I told you not to-"

          "Newt, we didn't have a choice. It was going to rampage-"

          "You weren't supposed to kill it!"

          Raleigh grabbed Newton to drag him back as Liz's hands flickered with blue flame. She clenched them in an attempt to control her own anger as Tendo pushed past. He saw Newton's hands move, start to form the symbols for the spell to open a portal of his own. He didn't want to know what he was trying to summon but he grabbed his wrists to halt it before they could find out. 

          "Calm down." 

          "They weren't supposed to kill it!"

          "We had no choice. Newt, baby, I need you to  _calm down_." 

          Newton was near tears when he looked at him, the blue of Liz's flames catching eerily in his eyes for a moment before he just collapsed into Tendo. His arms wrapped around him tightly and Tendo gave a tired sigh as he hugged him in return. He looked back to give Liz an apologetic look, any signs of her fire gone now aside from the smoking body of the kaiju. 

          "What'd I miss?" Red reappeared from the trees dusting himself off as he looked over the clearing. "Liz, baby, did you do that?" 

          "Come on, Newt, let's go check on Hermann." Tendo nudged him gently to get him moving before Red could reach them. Raleigh shifted to follow with them but he shook his head. "I've got him; help the others figure out what the damage is." 

          Raleigh gave them both a look but didn't argue. He would have seen what Newton was about to do but Tendo hoped the others hadn't realized. Red wouldn't take too kindly if it got back to him that Newt had tried to summon one of his creatures on his wife. 


	5. Don't you take what's mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the fall out from their second confrontation with a kaiju, Newt's infection is discovered and an attempt is made to treat it at its source. Instead, it leads to trouble for another member of their team.

          Tendo held his tongue throughout the short debriefing that followed when they got back to the house. It was rare that he felt well and truly irritated but he was there now. He restrained himself from saying anything as Hermann explained  _what_  he'd been trying to do in regards to manipulating the breach. He bit his tongue when Newton skimmed over his tantrum when they'd killed the kaiju stating he felt he would have been able to calm it down if given the chance. He, perhaps, said too many things with the look he locked onto Red when he went on about how _their_ team had obvious been the ones to screw up. 

          He was aware that Newton and Hermann trailed behind him towards their temporary rooms as he continued to do his best to rein in all that anger and fear and frustration until they were alone. It was a relief when they got into their room and he was able to sit on the edge of the bed, felt the burn of the rosary on his skin as an additional irritant. 

          "I wanted to do something more that could help. Even once the kaiju have been gone the breaches have remained. If I was able to close them, we wouldn't have to fear something else coming through again." 

          Hermann spoke calmly as he sat down beside him, starting in on his explanation without prompting as Newt settled into an agitated pace around the room. Tendo watched him closely as he tucked a hand against his ribs, scratched and massaged at his side like something was biting him beneath his shirt. It had started earlier in the day before they'd even left for the mission but he had grown more obvious in his attempt to sooth whatever the problem was. 

          "You shouldn't have tried something like that without one of us-"

          "Perhaps I am tired of having to always needing one of you-" 

          Hermann interrupted him and Tendo bared his teeth in one of those tense grins that helped him reel in that instinct to raise his voice. Newton had stopped his pacing to look at them both with wide-eyes, attention finally focused on the conversation. 

          "You're tired of us?" Newt had barely contained hurt in his voice as he seemed to try and stand still. 

          "I didn't mean it in that sense, I meant that I am tired of feeling coddled on missions. You both do so much and I simply wish to be able to carry my own weight rather than be left behind to be the look out." 

          Hermann sighed as he back peddled some of his own anger, pinched the bridge of his nose as Tendo gave him a soft frown. This wasn't them. Sure, they disagreed sometimes, especially Hermann and Newton who showed affection through bickering, but they rarely fought. 

          "We don't leave you to be look out because we think you're not able to carry your own weight, Hermann. We’ve talked about this." Tendo set a hand on Hermann's knee, both of them frowning softly at Newton as he squirmed despite his apparent best efforts to be still for a moment. 

          "Yeah, we leave you because we know you're gonna be the one to step in and save our asses, Hermms." Newt gave a soft whine of pure exasperation as he rubbed at his side, a pained expression on his face. 

          "Oh, will you just come here." Hermann was the one that spoke but Tendo was the one that reached for Newt. He caught Newton's wrist lightly in his hand and pulled him over to them despite his weak protests. Something was wrong and it clearly needed to be addressed before they could get into what exactly Newton had been thinking with his own actions. 

          "It's nothing, really, I think I just got bit by, like, a monster mosquito or something back by that creek." 

          Newton didn't resist as they tugged at his shirt even as he made excuses. Tendo heard Hermann suck in a deep breath as they got the shirt up to his arms. Knew something was wrong from that alone as he carefully made Newton turn so that he could see as well. 

          The dobhar-chu tattoo on Newton's side was red and angry. From it, blue streaks branched outward beneath his skin, covered most of his right side and reaching up towards his shoulder. Tendo carefully pressed a hand to the area and felt the heat coming off of it. 

          "When did this start?" 

          "Why didn't you tell us?" 

          They both stated their questions at the same time, both clearly demanding some sort of answer as Newton squirmed. He tried to reach to scratch at it again but Hermann caught his hand to keep him from doing so. 

          "I only noticed it the other morning. Something just bit me-"

          "That isn't a bug bite, love. Were you trying to summon dobhar-chu earlier when you were mad at Liz?" 

          "What?" Both Newton and Hermann gave him a confused look. It was Newton's expression that troubled Tendo the most. He looked genuinely confused and a little bit alarmed by the question; tried to tug away from them but Tendo kept him close. 

          "What are you talking about? I didn't try to summon anything on Liz. Why would I summon one of them on Liz?" Tendo tugged Newton down into his lap, held him there as he heard the hint of fear in his voice as Hermann stared at the blue streaks that likely signified some sort of infection. 

          "It's okay, hey, take a deep breath with me." Tendo could feel Newton's panic, tried to focus him to get him to calm down before it got worse. "Tell us what you remember happening earlier." 

          "We were following Leatherback's trail in the woods and then...something happened. I guess, Hermann trying to close the breach? So, we ran after it and...and...He almost had the key, almost found it but he couldn't with all of you pestering him and then she burned him, killed him..." 

          Newt's voice had shifted, taken on a darker tone as Tendo felt him tense. His hands had balled up in his lap and there was a flicker of light in his eyes. Hermann made a noise of concern as he pressed a hand against Tendo's arm, drew his attention to the blue streaks running beneath Newt's skin that almost seemed to glow now. 

          "Damn, this thing hurts. Maybe I need, like, antibiotics or something? It's driving me crazy." Newton's voice had flipped back as if nothing had happened. He tried to scratch at his side and Hermann stopped him once more as Tendo shared a look with him. "What? Wait, what'd I miss? Did I say something wrong?" 

          “I think we should speak with Abe. He is likely our best chance for figuring out what's happening." Hermann spoke firmly and Tendo's instinct was to argue with him. To insist they don't tell the others in fear of how they might react. He pushed that protective impulse down though. Understood not telling them what was happening with Newton would be counterproductive and dangerous. 

          "I don't know what he's gonna do to help with a rash, but sure?" Newton gave a shrug, relaxed as he curled up in Tendo's lap seeming to be suddenly exhausted. "Can I sleep first?" 

*

          "Well, this is concerning." 

          Hermann watched closely as Abe leaned close to Newton's side. He wasn't certain if it was his own perception or not, but it seemed that the infection was worse than it had been even in their room. Newton looked uncomfortable as he sat with his arm in the air so that the inflamed tattoo of dobhar-chu was easily visible. 

          Hermann sighed and the pages of a book resting on the pedestal besides him flipped in rapid succession unbidden. He was trying to hold in his fears, keep his emotions wound tight so not to contribute to Newton's already anxious energy. 

          Instead, it seemed to be causing it to come out in small shifts of the environment around him. Small bits of influence he wasn't intending to slip out. When he looked up from the book, he found Tendo watching him with a soft frown. 

          Tendo, who was keeping it together the best out of the three of them. Hermann knew he'd been right, that he should have discussed his idea about trying to influence the breach with them before moving ahead with it. Hermann also knew that neither of them would have agreed to it if he had. Despite their insistence that he was their shield, Hermann knew that they both felt the need to protect him the most. 

          "Have you tried to summon him since the incident?" Tendo tensed at the question as they sat still waiting for Newt's answer. Hermann hadn't seen it happen but Tendo had seemed certain Newt had tried to summon something when he was upset with Liz. Given the strange shift in personality back in their room when Newt was questioned about it, Hermann had little doubt it was true. 

          "No, there's not been any reason to." Newton gave a small shrug as he dropped his arm with a relieved look. Abe had turned to look back at both of them and Hermann knew he'd sensed their unease. 

          "I think perhaps we should give it a try. Though, perhaps not here. I fear we'd be in awfully tight quarters." 

          "You don't think that will make the infection spread more?" Tendo shifted from his spot, rested a hand on Hermann's knee as he moved past on his way to stand beside Newton. 

          "I'm afraid there's only one way to find out for certain. But, given the tattoo appears to be the source I can hazard the guess that dealing with whatever may be ailing Newt's furry friend might help ease his own symptoms." 

          "I'll do it. It will be fine; it's summoning one of the fae creatures." Newton spoke up before they could devolve into arguments or debates. Hermann pursed his lips, kept his own fears to himself as he heard the pages of the book flicker once more. 

*

          They had gone out what had probably been gardens once behind the house. They were overrun and half dead now but it gave them a little privacy for what he was about to do. Newton's side hurt now, felt like he had something eating away at his ribs, and if doing this meant getting rid of that sensation he was down. 

          He could tell there was something more going on than he knew. Was becoming more aware of the strange spaces in his memory now that his attention had been brought to them. If he prodded at it, he could tell there was an empty space in his recall of events. 

          He sort of wished he didn't have such an audience though. Given what he was about to do and the fact that they didn't know what state dobhar-chu would be in when he summoned him they'd pulled in the rest of the team. Well, the rest of  _their_  team. Tendo had insisted that Red and Liz hold back; argued about it until they reluctantly agreed. They wouldn’t be far though, would be watching to see how this went.

          Raleigh, Mako, Yancy and Liwen were all gathered around the edges waiting in case things went wrong though. The whole gang just waiting on him. 

          "How do we know the kaiju won't come through? The one that you had dobhar-chu pull into the fae realm with him?" Raleigh stepped close to him, kept his voice lower as he asked the question.

          "I'm only calling dobhar-chu, he should be the only one to respond. But if something else comes too I'll just send them both back. I'd step back some." 

          Newton focused the best he could with the niggling in his side. Focused and pulled in magic towards him, could taste the familiar metallic tang of it on the air, and he started to shape it as he needed it. Opening doorways into the fae realm was old habit now, familiar and as casual as walking.

          “Madruisce.” He spoke the name on a whisper as the portal opened, expanded in front of him to allow the dobhar-chu through.

          Instead, the first thing that came through were two long bioluminescent tendrils that shot out towards him before he could pull back. They grabbed onto his wrist as Newton gave a startled shout, heard the others rushing towards him as the rest of the thing started coming through. It hauled him forward and then up, pulling him into the air as Newton heard something akin to the rush of waves crashing towards him.

          Then it was quiet. Newton felt like he was watching a movie, detached and not in control of what was happening. He was aware of it though as he looked down and saw Otachi, only Otachi, come through the breach. Her injuries were partially healed as she climbed out but she wasn’t alone. Newt knew she wasn’t alone but the others wouldn’t know. 

*

          “We would like to speak.”

          Tendo could feel Hermann’s hands knotted in the back of his shirt, keeping him from rushing forward to attack. It was Newt’s voice that spoke but there was something different about it as the kaiju lowered him back down from where it had lifted him into the air. Lowered him so that he was standing in front of them and his eyes glowed blue and bright. The tendrils that had wrapped their way up his arms stayed in place, moved his arms like a puppet as he gave a soft bow of his head.

          “What are you doing to him?” Raleigh spoke carefully, gun still trained on the kaiju behind Newton. Tendo was glad he had insisted that Red hang back away from the main group. That he hadn’t been here to react without thought.

          “This is the only way we can speak with you. He has proven to be an ideal conduit.” Tendo felt Hermann’s hold on him loosen, found his hand with his own as Hermann stepped forward to get a better look at Newton who had a placid smile on his face. It felt too fake, felt too hollow and empty.

          “Why are you here? What are you hoping to find?” Tendo’s hand tightened on Hermann’s as he stepped a little closer and Newt’s focus turned to them. The kaiju’s focus shifted to them at the same time; eyes narrowed slightly as if evaluating them.

          “Our world is dying. There is one on your world that could help us so we sent our scouts to find them. And we have found them.”

          There was something cold and calculating in Newton’s expression as he looked Hermann over and Tendo knew that they were talking about him. He stepped forward, put himself between Hermann and them to ensure that it wouldn’t be as simple for the kaiju to snatch him up as it had done to Newt.

          “What would I be able to do that would help you?”

          “We only have the power to open singular smaller…breaches, I believe you call them. In order to get those of us that are left moved to a new world we need to open a larger breach. You would be able to help us do so. A planet near your own has been determined to be suitable. You help us open the breach; we will be able to move the remainder of our people to a new home.”

          “And what are you doing to do for _my_ people if we do this for you, blue-eyes?”

          Tendo tugged Hermann back towards him as Red called out. He was moving into the garden despite Liz’s protests that he needed to stay inside. Tendo wished the idiot would learn to listen, for once. Newton’s attention turned towards Red as he stomped his way up to him with that usual over-confident swagger. 

          “ _Your_ people aren’t involved in this, demon.”

          “Oh, good, you’re assholes too. My people are involved. _These_ are my people and this one here?” Red tapped Newton on the chest pointedly as he spoke. “This one’s one of my people too. You know, the one your controlling.”

          “Red.” Tendo cautioned him and gritted his teeth when Red just waved him off.

          “We are not able to offer anything but our gratitude. _You_ …Agent…Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. Utterly human but capable of manipulating space, physical matter and so much more if you tried. This one rather loves you; he loves the concubus as well. You are kind and caring. Will you help us?”

          Newton’s focus pulled off of Red to aim itself on to Hermann. Tendo tried to step between them, block him from being the center of that calculating gaze, and Hermann swatted him lightly away.

          “This connection that you’ve formed with Newton, it is hurting him. Are you able to help with that? Heal whatever damage it’s doing?”

          Hermann stepped closer and Tendo moved with him. Stayed close to him, felt nervous and worried about where this was going. He thought he saw the shift of something behind the kaiju back towards where Newton had opened his portal into the fae realm. Red seemed to see it as well as his eyes zeroed in on the same general area.

          “Yes. It is an…unfortunate side effect but we will be able to fix it easily. If you help us, we will do so.”

          “That sounds a lot like blackmail there, bub.” Red gave a soft grumble as he spoke. Tendo caught Yancy’s attention, motioned back towards where he thought he’d spotted some movement. Watched as he gave a nod of understanding, motioned for Mako to follow him as he started a wide slow circle around the kaiju to make sure nothing else was there with them.

          “As we said, this is our last resort. If you do not help us; we will perish. We must take whatever opportunity we can.”

          “I’ll do it. I’ll help you as long as you are able to help him.” Hermann spoke eagerly, took another step and Tendo held him back anxiously. Something was off about this. Newt tilted his head a little to the side, smiled too widely as the tendrils pulled his arms out in a sweeping motion and dropped him into a bow.

          “Excellent. Then we shall heal him.” The smile sharpened on Newton’s face for a few seconds before it faded. The blue faded from Newton’s eyes as he blinked and frowned in confusion at them. The tendrils unfurled from his arms as he unsteadily stood on his own.

          “Hermann…” Newton got the one word out before the tendrils pressed against his temples and he arched with a scream. Red gave a shout of anger as he launched himself at the kaiju and Tendo pulled a sword free to cut through the vine-like appendages.  

          “Tendo!” Yancy’s shout reached him through the sudden commotion as something the size of a bus came rushing out towards them.

          Tendo tried to pull Hermann back but the thing snatched him away as it brushed past. Hermann gave a startled cry as the smaller kaiju’s claw-ended tail gripped him tightly. Tendo watched in terror as he started off towards the house with Hermann fighting to get free. Glanced back at Newton who had crumbled to the ground and found Liz leaning over him.

          “I’ve got Newt, you go before it gets away!”

          Tendo nodded and pushed to give chase after the smaller kaiju. It jumped up onto the balcony of the house and then to the roof as Tendo rushed after it. Hermann reached for him with panic on his face as Tendo tried to get close enough to take a swing, to try and severe the things tail and therefore its hold on Hermann.

          Tendo made to follow as the kaiju jumped off the roof but stopped himself on the edge as he realized it never landed below. There was the sound of shouting behind them from the back of the house and he heard Otachi give an angry scream as gunshots punctuated the air.

          “Where’d it go…oh shit.” Red came to a skidding stop besides him as Tendo watched the form of the smaller kaiju making distance fast. Faster than he’d be able to keep up. Taking Hermann away while who knew what was happening with Newton as silence settled in the garden behind the house.

          “Is it dead?”

          “Uh…yeah, didn’t take much. Seemed pretty roughed up as it was. Really, you all should have let me just handle it the second it came through cause it wouldn’t have taken too much…uh, you okay there, buddy?”

          Tendo ignored him as he turned to head back to check on Newt. To try and gauge how much damage had been done. Then he’d go after Hermann. Find wherever that thing was taking him and get him back.

          He jumped down the same way he’d come up and eyed the group of people crowded around the center of the garden uncertainly. He pushed to move through them, to get to Newton, and they all turned and parted for him without a word.

          Liz and Abe were both leaning over Newton as he tried to get to his feet despite their protests. Even they backed off when Tendo reached them and Newton finally managed to stand only for his legs to give out a few seconds later. Tendo caught him, pulled him in close and held him tightly as he heard a soft sob break from Newton’s throat.

          He gathered Newton carefully up into his arms, lifted him and cradled him there as he turned back towards the house. Yancy was close by, clothes splattered with the blue blood of the kaiju that laid dead partway into the trees.

          “He had his tracker on. We’ll find him and let you know his location. I’ll get the team ready to roll out asap.”

          Tendo just nodded his head before carrying Newton towards the house. Kept his eyes forward and ignored Red when he landed besides him on his way. He didn’t trust himself to speak; didn’t trust himself to measure his words. So Tendo held his tongue.


	6. Burn it Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team launches a plan to try and bring Hermann back to them after tracking him to a small island in the Pacific.

            Newton was aware of what had happened but it felt like it had been a dream. Well, more like a nightmare really. His muscles still felt weak, joints loose and unstable, as they filed into the plane once more. His side ached, a reminder that those streaks of blue beneath his skin were still there, still appeared to be spreading.

            Hermann's tracker was leading them towards the breach that rested just outside of Japan. They had been fortunate that he’d even had the tracker on him otherwise they’d be fumbling around blindly. As it was, they didn’t have a real good lay of the land where they were going. They’d pinned it down to an island that was only charted on some older maps and marked as being ‘cursed’ which typically meant it rested on an intersection of lay lines.

            Hermann was out there on his own because of him. Had been taken because Newt hadn't been strong enough to resist their control or get a warning out. Newton had told them what their plan was, what he'd been able to gather of it while he'd been connected to their hivemind. 

            They would use Hermann to open a breach much larger than those they'd been able to open on their own. And something truly terrible would come through it. They didn't want just any planet or plane. They wanted theirs. And from here they'd try to spread, they'd try to take the fae realm first and then hell. They were conquerors and they wanted as much as they could get. 

            The Precursors. 

            He had told them all that too. Tried to get them to understand the difference. The kaiju were the pawns; it was the Precursors who controlled them that were the threat. No one had really listened to that. Newt wasn't certain he could blame them. 

            Most everyone else seemed to be asleep but Newton couldn't manage it. He had tried after they'd gotten settled in and taken off. Had managed to drift off only to be swallowed up by actual nightmares that made him twist and turn and wake in a panic. He'd given up after the second time of startling out of a dream state to find Tendo watching him with a soft frown on his face. Had curled up a little smaller in his chair and stared out the window. 

            Tendo had been unusually quiet since the catastrophe in the garden. Newton could understand if he was mad at him; why he'd be upset given Newton hadn't been able to help. He had kept the infection of his tattoo a secret and in the end, it had been the reason they’d lost Hermann. His side gave yet another painful throb as if reminding him of it. He worried what had happened to Dobhar-du but knew he couldn't find that answer just then. 

            It was dark outside; there was a hint of stars between clouds and the rhythmic blinking of a light on the wing illuminating its shape as it cut through the fog.

_It will be ours._  

            Newt startled a little. Hadn't realized he'd been drifting until the voice had slithered into the back of his mind. He resisted the urge to look around, knew no one else had heard it as he ran his hands through his hair. Scratched at his scalp and tried to focus on the sensation of it. The feel of fingernails on his skin and the sound of his hair scrunching beneath them.

            "Newt, sweetheart?" Newt glanced up at Tendo guiltily as he expected to see some sign of that anger but was met with just a soft worried frown. It seemed deeper than his typical concern; seemed tired in a way that was unusual for him.

            Tendo reached a hand out and soothed it over Newt’s shoulder before carefully taking his wrist and pulling him closer. Newton let him, let Tendo pull him close enough so he could settle against his side with Tendo's arm draped around his shoulders. 

            "Do you think he's alright?" 

            "Of course, he's alright. He's Hermann." 

            The soft hum of doubt escaped him. Newt didn't think Tendo sounded all that certain. 

            "It's my fault. I'm sorry." Newton mumbled it quietly and he felt Tendo press a kiss to the top of his head. He didn't know what he was going to do if Hermann wasn't okay.

            He'd still have Tendo but that wouldn't fill the hole left behind. Not for either of them. And he worried that if there was suddenly a Hermann shaped hole in their lives that Tendo would eventually decide he couldn't be around him anymore either and then he'd have nothing. 

            "What happened isn't your fault, Newt. None of us expected this and none of us were prepared to handle it. We're going to get him back." 

            "Yeah..." Newton felt Tendo heave a quiet sigh. He felt himself grow heavy and fatigued, felt Tendo’s fingers comb through his hair in a comforting gesture. This time when he drifted into sleep, he had a sense it would be more restful; aided without comment by Tendo’s presence.

*

            Hermann had passed out at some point only to wake in what appeared to be a circular stone room of some kind. The walls slanted upwards towards an open sky that was dark and full of stars; moonlight spilled down into the center. He shifted and felt a sharp pain shoot up along his left leg; his old injury complaining at the jostling of the flight and the cold of the stones seeping into his joints. 

            Most everything hurt now as he tried to carefully stand and survey his surroundings. To see if he thought he could make it up the slanted walls to escape whatever this trench was. 

            Something shifted towards the upper rim and he caught the shape of the smaller kaiju that had brought him here. He clearly was being guarded to make certain he didn't try an escape. 

            Hermann startled as something shifted close by, a looming shape standing on two legs but with more limbs that it should be if it were human. It stepped towards him, the moonlight hitting its face revealing multiple eyes on an otherwise smooth featureless face. A crest framed its head like a crown as it observed him inquisitively. 

            The moonlight seemed to grow more intense, a bright blue that reflected off its eyes, and Hermann realized too late that it wasn't the glow of the moon. He felt the pressure on his temples like fingertips being pressed to his skin a moment before the spark cut into his mind. 

            He wasn't aware of his own scream of pain. Wasn't aware of how his body arched in shock. All he was aware of was the immense, all-encompassing hive. Millions of bodies at once, some large and some small, shifting and scurrying and eagerly awaiting. There was one in particular that still lay dormant, eagerly waiting for its turn, their destroyer who would conquer the world for them once the door was open. 

            It started to narrow, minds growing distant and tasks becoming background noise until finally Hermann opened his eyes to stare into his face. That featureless face with many eyes that stared back; tilted their heads together and gave a soft gleeful laugh.

            Hermann, the perfectly human version of himself, wanted to scream and fight back. Wanted to tear free of the mental strings that seemed to be taking hold. He paused though, stilled in his own mind, as he realized there was information leaking through. Winding its way slowly into him in a way he was certain was unintentional. Information that may be useful. That may help Newton. 

            And so, he let them believe they had him. Let them believe he was theirs. And hopefully, when the time came, Newton and Tendo would be there to call his name. 

*

            They had expected the island to be dark as they approached it but they’d been greeted by its outline on the horizon. A golden yellow glow came from somewhere near the center of the island and hints of blue shifting lights moved along the shore. They had kept the boat dark as they approached and anchored a way out from a rocky beach.

            They would be going in dark on a set of small rafts and Tendo watched to try and gauge the patrolling of the kaiju they could see. There were three of them from what he could tell though it was difficult to know for certain without seeing the far side of the island. Four at most on patrol. They would need to time it so they could come in with the most time to disperse before one made its way past.

            He looked over towards where Newton was getting ready with a wave of concern. Newt looked worse. He’d spent the entire flight here shifting in and out of restless sleep until Tendo had used some of his influence to send him into a dreamless rest.

            “Can we talk for a moment?” Yancy stepped up beside him and Tendo shook his head lightly to clear away his thoughts. Dropped his eyes down as he strapped a glove in place.

            “Of course, what’s up, brother?” Tendo shifted his stance to face Yancy a bit more while being able to keep an eye on the shore at the same time. The last thing they needed was one of those things spotting them out there and catching them off guard. He thought he saw a shape drift over the tree tops further back towards the glow that was undoubtedly the location they’d use to open the breach and wondered if it was the same one that had taken Hermann.

            “I don’t know if we can bring him with us.” Yancy kept his voice low but Tendo still gave him a dark look for the comment. He knew that it was practical to be concerned, worried about it himself, but there was the defensive instinct that came to the surface over someone else doubting Newton.

            “I understand, brother, but I don’t think he’s going to be willing to hang back though with Hermann in danger.”

            “I think you’re going to want to convince him to. Everyone’s a bit skittish because of what happened in Anchorage and I’m not just talking about when he tried to summon Dobhar-du. Raleigh…told me that he thought Newt was being manipulated even back when we found the second kaiju. His outburst? If you can convince him to stay behind on his own-”

            “And what exactly are you suggesting?” Tendo narrowed his eyes at him; shifted so that he was standing between Yancy and the other side of the boat where Newton was.

            “I’m saying that the plan is for him to stay behind on the boat no matter what and it would be better if he chose to on his own. I don’t honestly like it any more than you but we don’t want those things getting a hold of him again. Raleigh and I, both, will stay back with him if it helps ease your mind. We’ll have enough people on the ground and Mako can hang by your side.”

            Tendo felt a bit sick at the thought of them needing to use force to keep Newton on the boat. Confining him would be an extreme measure that would feel cruel and do nothing but upset him. Tendo understood as well that, if Newt decided he wanted out, he’d easily manage it unless they took magical means which would leave him even more vulnerable.

            “I’ll talk to him and get him to agree. You can tell the others that we won’t be resorting to locking up one of our own.”

            He felt a muscle in his jaw twitch with tension as he gritted his teeth together as he turned. Yancy gave a quiet protest as he walked away but Tendo chose to ignore it as he moved over towards where Newton was nervously checking his pack. Placed a gentle hand on his back as he leaned in close and felt Newton still a little at the contact. 

            He wasn't willing to manipulate his feelings to make him more complacent. Wasn't willing to betray that trust just to make this a bit easier even with his concern over the alternative. It had taken a while for him to get used to complete honesty. He wasn't going back on it now. 

            "You're going to need to stay on the boat, sweetheart." He spoke quietly to him and Newton rounded to give him an indignant expression. Tendo stepped a little closer, placed his hands-on Newton's waist as he tried to keep this from becoming a scene in front of the others. Something else they'd potentially see as a reason to hold Newt back. 

            "No, what? I can't stay on the boat. We need to go get Hermann." Newton's voice was louder than he'd hoped but there seemed to be some awareness that they had an audience as he glanced past him. 

            "I know but you can't come with us. We can't risk you getting snagged up by one of the kaiju again. I'd rather you come; I'd rather have you close where I could keep an eye out but the boat might be the safest place. Raleigh and Yancy will stay wit-"

            "No, I don't want to just sit and worry. I'm fine, I am. I know you're mad but-"

            "Mad? Newt, I'm not mad at you."

            "Then why won't you let me come!"

            "Because it's too dangerous."

            "Bull shit! You don't get to go risk yourself to save Hermann while I just sit on a fucking boat!"

            "Newt, if you don't agree to stay on your own, they're going to make you stay." Tendo hissed it under his breath as he pulled Newt a little closer. Pressed his lips close to his ear and wished he was able to somehow guarantee his safety. Guard and protect him from the fact that that truth was going to hurt. 

            "What?" It came out sounding like Newton had been punched in the gut. Tendo felt his hands grip his shirt as if holding onto him to keep them being separated and he gave a sad sigh. 

            "That's why I need you to agree to stay here. They're worried, they're scared because there's no way to be certain you won't get used the way you were in Anchorage. Let me go get Hermann, stop whatever this is and then we can go home and figure out how to make this better again." 

            Newton was quiet for a long moment and though Tendo could hear the other's still getting ready to go, he knew they were watching them to see what the outcome would be. He wondered if their own team would move in to restraint him if he argued. 

            "Okay...I'll stay." Newton sounded absolutely defeated when he said it. Sounded small and far more timid than Tendo ever expected to hear him sound. He hugged him a little tighter, pressed a kiss against the top of his head as he looked out towards the island for a moment. 

            "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll be back to you as fast as I can with Hermann, okay?" 

            "Okay." 

            He was reluctant to let go but he did. Knew they needed to get moving so they didn't lose the hours of darkness that would provide them cover. When he turned, he found a small audience watching them. Yancy looking guilty, Raleigh hanging back but not meeting his eyes. None of them would except for Red who gave him a look of understanding. 

            "Come on, let's get you settled back under deck." Tendo kept his arm tightly around Newton's waist and led him along the way. He heard Red shift and follow them, felt the boat tilt slightly with his weight as he took Newton past the rest of the team as they paused to give them curious looks. 

            "If anything spots you out here, I want you to call on the comm, okay? Or if anything goes wrong?" Tendo waited until they were down below and in relative privacy though he was well aware that Red was still behind them. Newton nodded as they reached the small cramped room they'd been assigned below deck. 

            "Yeah...you too? Will you let me know when you find him at least?" 

            "Of course. We'll hurry back to you, I promise. I've got to go finish getting ready. Are you okay?" Tendo nudged the door to the room open but didn't let go of Newton just yet. Felt a little like he was being the jailer at the moment and hated it. Hermann was out there though, in active danger, and they both would rest easier once he was back with them. 

            "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...I'm fine." Newton moved to step into the room and Tendo stopped him for a moment. Cupped his face in his hands and pressed a kiss against his lips. Felt some relief when Newton reciprocated, leaned up into him for a second before they heard a quiet shout down the stairs letting them know they were gathering on the deck. 

            "Love you."

            "Love you too. We'll be back." Tendo pulled away then, let Newton step back into their room looking upset and a bit lost as he turned to start back up the stairs. He pushed past Red who moved to walk with him, keeping pace now that he was on his own. 

            "I told them it wasn't right."

            "Don't." 

            "I told them that you don't get to just lock us up cause you think we're getting a little out of hand but they don't listen. That's always been their problem is they don't listen." 

            Tendo gave a frustrated huff as Red continued to follow him, pushed past Chuck along the rail who gave him a frown somewhere between annoyance and concern. He wanted this done with, wanted to go in, get Hermann and then get the hell out of here. 

            "Red..." Liz spoke a warning as he stormed past with Hellboy on his heels. 

            "I get it that you're angry and you should be because you know they would have done it. They would have sealed him up in that room because they're scared. But you've gotta focus all of that anger at the right place. Aim it at those blue-tongued jackasses who caused the problem in the first place. We've got work to do and-"

            "I am well aware of what we need to do, Red." Tendo turned on him with a quiet snarl. "And yeah, I am angry. I'm pissed. Because I shouldn't have had to do that. I don't need your affirmations. Let's just get this shit done." 

*

            Newton had stayed down below listening to the others depart on the deck above him. He sat on the edge of the bed feeling nervous and a sinking sort of dread in the pit of his stomach. They had never threatened to restrain any of them before, not in such an obvious manner at least. Sure, they'd put restrictions and reeled them in from time to time if they got a little too obvious or if a mission went a little too public. 

            He chewed at his cuticles anxiously as he sat and it went quiet up above. He gave it a little while longer before he risked stepping out of his room to head back up to the deck. He felt claustrophobic in the bedroom; half expected to find the door locked when he tried it but it swung open for him. 

            Raleigh gave him a nod as he emerged at the top of the stairs from where he was leaning against the rail but didn't move to stop him. Yancy was up towards the front of the ship, staring out across the water towards the island where there was a hint of blue moving down along the shore. One of the kaiju patrolling. 

            Newton felt a nervous hitch in his chest at the sight of it and he side-stepped around Yancy to stand next to the rail at a distance. Yancy gave him a guilty sort of look but didn't attempt to approach him or speak with him and some of that anxiety eased back as he looked out towards the island. Watched the blue shape shift down along the shore as the golden glow continued to illuminate the center putting thick trees and odd structures in silhouette. 

            "It is not near where they have come ashore, if you are concerned." The voice startled him and he looked down to find Abe in the water near the boat. He apparently was serving as their own patrol to assure nothing spotted them out there and approached while they were unaware. 

            "Thanks." A few long seconds stretched between them, Newton watching as the blue glow of the kaiju turned back and started a return trip on whatever path they had it set on. 

            "I do believe your own safety was a contributing factor in deciding you should stay behind, Newton. They are concerned for you." Abe had kept his voice low and Newton glanced towards Yancy again. Shook his head a little and chose not to answer.

            He understood but that didn't mean it washed away the bitter taste of it. Didn't remove that threat of confinement whether it stemmed from their team or not. 

            Newton gritted his teeth as he felt his side give a throb; felt as if the veining was roots shifting beneath his skin. The itch of it scurried between his ribs and he dug at it once more. A constant painful reminder of his own failings. He knew well enough it would likely kill him eventually. They had no idea how to stop its spread. 

_Burn it out._

            Newton stilled. It had been like a whisper in his ear only he understood no one else had heard it. 

_I'm afraid you'll have to burn it out. Dobhar-du included._

            Hermann's voice spoke sad and quiet in the back of his mind. With it came that rushing tsunami of presence. The hivemind tried to rush in to fill the crevices of his mind but there was the familiar warmth of Hermann's presence as well. 

_Call him. Bring him. Come to us._

_Burn it out._

_*_

            They had landed on shore, dragging the boats up into the foliage in an attempt to hide them if one of the kaiju came past the area. They had a small window to work with but they were organized and fast. 

            Tendo stuck close to Mako while keeping some distance from Red. He knew he'd been trying to help but he wasn't the one he wanted reassurances or commiseration from at the moment. He glanced back out towards the water where he knew the boat was. Felt a small twist of fear in his gut knowing Newt was out there without him. 

            Mako gave him a soft nudge to get him moving and they started back through the trees. Started to make their way towards the center of the island as quickly and stealthy as they could manage. It didn't take long before the shapes of some old structure started to jut out from beneath the overgrowth. 

            They could make out a larger, more intact structure towards the center of the island where the glow of the breach came from. The island was small but it still took them a better part of an hour to get to the base of the structure, the night sky coming into view though that false sunlight drowned out the stars. 

            Hermann would be there, somewhere near the breach, he was sure of it. Tendo hoped they wouldn't be too late, that he would still be alright and safe and that they'd be able to stop this before whatever they wanted to bring through managed to emerge. 

            They paused at the base of the structure, pulling together and sticking low to the ground as they caught sight of the kaiju that had snagged Hermann roaming along the top. 

            The building itself seemed to be built as steps up towards the top and there were vine covered entrances down along the side. Whatever was happening seemed to be up where the kaiju scurried along but to take the direct path would leave them potentially exposed. 

            "One of the guys said he could see light through the tunnel. It looks like it goes all the way through into the center. The breach is visible but it's definitely not unguarded." Chuck shifted over close, speaking quietly to him and Mako who had stuck close by his side. They all ducked a little, fell silent as another shadow moved up on the top of the ruins. 

            "Was there any sign of Hermann?" 

            "No. Not that he could see but he didn't go in too far. Look, mate, we're going to have to stay focused-"

            "And I will stay focused. My focus is getting Hermann out of the way of danger first and then getting this thing closed and over with." Tendo snapped, had to reel himself in for a moment as he felt Mako's hand rest on his arm. He wasn't normally this tense. He also wasn't normally on his own either. 

            "We will take lead through the tunnel. Tendo has the best chance of getting to Hermann if we spot him and getting him out of there. If he is being manipulated as Newton was then he also has the best chance of getting him to snap out of it." Mako spoke calmly but he could hear the strict tone that said there was no room for arguments. Chuck clearly heard it to as he leveled an irritated look at her. 

            "Red and I will be right behind you then. If shit goes south, he'll have the best chance of saving your asses. Liz and the rest of the team can follow through the back and burn anything that comes at us from behind." 

            "Fine." Mako gave a nod and tugged on his sleeve to get him moving. Tendo gave Chuck a look when he rolled his eyes before shifting to follow her lead. The entrance to the tunnel was about a yard to their right and they had to skim along the base of the structure, staying in the cover of the trees the best they could as the kaiju passed over once more. 

            The tunnel was clearly an old corridor, structures walls covered now in sludge and vines as damp seeped in from above and below. Despite the overgrowth of the years Tendo could tell there were symbols carved here as well and he tried to get some sort of idea if he recognized them. They didn't seem cohesive, seemed to be many different languages, some overlaying others as if they'd been redone over the years in whatever was the most common at the time. 

            "These are written in fae here. Warnings." Mako whispered as she paused at a point on the wall. Tendo leaned to look and saw the worn-down symbols. 

            "There's old runes back here that are the same." Chuck, a few feet behind them, called in a hushed voice as he nodded at a section. 

            Thousands of languages warning this was not a place to tread. 

            There was a crack further ahead, a sound like sparking energy and the glow of the breach seemed to extend further down the hall. There was a weird clatter that almost sounded like voices that carried to them and Tendo frowned. 

            They were starting. He nodded towards Mako to indicate he was going to take the lead before he started down the hall once more. Moved carefully the closer he got to the opening that gave entrance to that courtyard. As he peered out, he saw that they weren't at the bottom of it. 

            No, that extended further down into the center where the breach crackled with energy. The ruins sloped up from there, steps carved into the side and a platform part way around the room where he could see three figures standing. 

            Two of the figured loomed tall. Too many arms, too tall and looming to be human. The center figure was familiar though. Hermann stood staring down at the breach with eyes glowing blue. 

*

            "Geiszler, you alright?" Raleigh took a few cautious steps towards Geiszler who had gone still at the starboard bow. Sapien had been talking to him but no longer seemed to be getting a response as he tried to get Geiszler's attention. 

            "Oh dear..." He heard the comment from down near the surface of the water where Sapien had been keeping watch. Saw the hint of the blue glow even before Newt turned to look at him with a haunted expression. 

            "Newt?" Yancy spoke up from where he'd been keeping an eye on the shore. Raleigh side-stepped in his direction, kept some distance between him and Geiszler who watched with that luminescent gaze. 

            "Get to the back of the boat." 

            Newt's voice sounded a bit distorted, not the full affect from the courtyard, but a buzz behind it that signaled trouble. Raleigh and Yancy both moved as Newton's hands snapped together and he started motioning to open a portal as he turned back towards the island. They tucked back past the cabin, both of them hesitant to draw their weapons when the only threat was one of their own. 

            They shifted, moved so they still had a clear view of Newton as the portal opened up out over the water. 

            "We need to help him." 

            "How? We don't even know what he's summoning." Raleigh held Yancy back when he tried to move forward again. They had no clue which of Geiszler's creatures was going to come out of the portal. No idea what he intended to do once it was out. 

            "It's...Dobhar-chu. I don't think he intends us any harm. I..." Sapien was carefully climbing up the ladder at the back of the ship. He stayed on the ladder, peeking above the deck of the boat, as he watched with a curious tilt to his head. "I think it might be best if we stay out of his way." 

            As he spoke the first sign of the dobhar-chu came through the portal. It was the same large otter-like monstrosity but it looked sickly now. It was battered from whatever battle it had waged against the kaiju when it had pulled it through and it was clear that it had lost. There was blue seeping from tears in its side and its eyes were the same luminous blue of Geiszler's. 

            Odd strands seemed to be forming in the air, wispy tendrils of substance that seemed to connect it to Geiszler as if that infection was shared. That it branched the space between them as dobhar-chu came splashing down into the water, disturbing the boat and sending it rocking. 

            Newt turned back towards them one last time, seemed to signal for them to stay back as if he was still trying to warn them away. Then he climbed over the rail and disappeared into the water below. 

            "Abe." Yancy barked the order as he rushed forward. Raleigh was on Yancy's heels and heard the splash of Sapien dropping back into the water behind them. They reached the bow of the ship and though Geiszler wasn't visible they could see the glowing form of Dobhar-chu trailing towards the island at a quick speed. 

            "Is there any sign of him?" Raleigh called down as he saw Abe resurface in front of them. 

            "I believe he is with the dobhar-chu. I do not see him below the ship. I will start after them." 

            "Wait-" Yancy tried to stop him but Abe had already dived back down to head towards the island. "Come on, we need to go after them." 

            Raleigh watched the shape moving towards the island, saw one of those blue-hued glows on the shore start moving to intercept and hoped it wasn't going to be too late before they got there. They both moved quickly, shifted to the last of the rafts to drop down and head towards shore. 

            "Alpha team, heads up that you've got an incoming. Geiszler got pulled under by those things again and has dobhar-chu heading towards the island fast." 

*

            Tendo felt his heart drop into his stomach when he heard the call from Raleigh come through. Felt a spike of anger towards them that they hadn't managed to keep Newton safe even as he understood there had likely been little they could do. 

            He couldn't react at that moment though. Couldn't respond as he stayed tucked into a crevice along the side as a kaiju roamed past. 

            They had decided the best course of action would be for him to try and reach Hermann while the rest of the team hung back for the moment. If Tendo could get through to Hermann he might be able to get them somewhere safe while the others stopped the kaiju. The problem was the two creatures flanking Hermann that Tendo suspected were the Precursors Newton had mentioned as being in charge. 

            They would be the target once Hermann was out of the way. The hope was if they took them out the kaiju would stop; would lose the direction they had been given. 

            The kaiju passed and Mako gave him a gentle nudge that they were clear. They shared a look for a second as the conversation about Newton continued in their ears before they started forward once more. Crept along the edge of the step they were on as they made their way closer to the platform. 

            There was a shrill cry from above that had them freezing in place just short of the platform Hermann stood on with the Precursors. Tendo worried they'd been spotted at first but then another cry called out and soon the kaiju were singing a chorus as if announcing something was about to occur. 

            Hermann was stepping to the edge of the platform, looking down at the breach and Tendo feared for a moment he was going to step right off into nothing. Fall down into that tear in space. 

            Instead, Hermann seemed to steady himself before clapping his hands together in a familiar gesture that belonged to Newton rather than to him. Tendo realized what was happening, what Hermann was about to do and pushed forward as the ground started to shake. As Hermann focused down at the breach, he started to slowly pull his hands apart as if he was fighting a great force. 

            The towering Precursor noticed him as Tendo ducked under a swing it took in his direction. They moved to block him as shouts came from across the room where the team appeared to try and stop the kaiju that had started swarming down to defend them. 

            Mako gave a cry as she opened fire on one of the Precursor's drew its attention to her so he could push out of the way and deal with the other. Hermann didn't turn at the commotion, didn't even seem to notice it as he continued to strain against the force he was trying to manipulate and control. As the earth shuddered and the breach slowly started to expand below. 

*

_I'm so sorry, darling, but you're going to have to burn it out._

            All Newton could focus on was Hermann's voice in the back of his head. If he tried to focus on anything else, he felt as if he might get lost. They were multitudes. He could hear them all and it felt as if he was seeing from ma y different eyes.

            He closed his tightly as he held onto the back of dobhar-chu. Held on as they moved through the trees having broken free from the water along the shore. A kaiju was keeping flank, bounding with them until it broke off with the sound of gun fire. 

Liz. They would need Liz. 

            Part of him yearned to go to Hermann. To help him with his part of play in it all but he knew he couldn't. He needed Liz so she could burn it out. 

            They bounded over the heads of some of the team, scrabbled along the side of the ruins as they tried to search. To find. 

            And finally, he found what he was looking for. Liz was near the entrance to one of the many halls carved through the hive staring him down. Hands already lit as if she expected a fight as they came to a stop.

            She was there to stop them. To try and keep others from burrowing into the hive center this way and catching the others unaware. 

Dobhar-chu came to a stop in front of her, bowed his head as Newton carefully slid down at look her over.

            He heard them, the many, whispering to destroy her. To stop the intruders and to come help welcome their destruction into the world. 

            The ground gave a trembling shudder and he knew it had started. The breach, time and space, was being pried further apart by Hermann.

            Hermann, capable of so much more than they ever would have known. 

            "Newt, snap out of it. I don't want to hurt either of you." She didn't. She wouldn't. Not unless absolutely forced. And, unfortunately, he was going to have to use force. Dobhar-chu snarled behind him and he pushed back against its rage. Pushed back against the anger and its desire to do as the multitudes wanted. The Precursors. 

            Newt eyed the group that stood around Liz including Jules at the ready beside her. They stood with guns aimed but none of them were willing to open fire on him just yet. He was one of them which bought him more time than if he wasn't. Newton didn't want to fight; he never preferred to fight. And so, he would use his charm. 

            The magic welled up inside him, tasted like metal on his tongue as he felt Hermann help guide his words. To keep the many from speaking something too harsh or destructive. All he wanted was for them to...

             "Leave us." The magic would touch in each of their minds. Something far more fae than he typically would use. Those whose names he knew would be most susceptible to the suggestion but he doubted that even those he didn’t know would be able to resist.

            Liz looked around with confusion as they slowly peeled away, turned and walked to some other place to provide their help. Jules held out the longest, a look of concentration on her face before she too turned and walked away with her gun lowered.

            “What did you do?” Liz’s hands lit at her side, blue flames licking up along her arms as she stood her ground even as he stepped closer. Newton had to pause for a moment, felt a wave of illness as they pushed back against his attempt to keep his thread of control.

            He looked up at her once he was able to still some of their voices in the back of his mind. Focused in on Hermann’s that spoke calmly but apologetically through the rest of the din. Newt reached forward to take Liz’s wrist and the fire immediately disappeared as she hesitated in hurting him. He pulled her hand towards him, placed it at his side where the tattoo of dobhar-chu sat.

            Newt heard dubhur-du snarl behind him, felt its rage and pain as he looked up at Liz with a pleading expression.

            “Burn it out.”

            “What?” Liz gave him a shake of her head as Newt felt his head clear. He bit at his bottom lip for a moment before pulling in that magic once more to silver-lace his words.

            “Elizabeth Sherman…burn it out.” Newton felt a small twinge of regret. Regret for pushing her to do it. Regret that dobhar-chu would suffer the consequences of his own mistake.

            The blue flames sparked at his side and he felt the heat of it. Felt the sear of it against his skin as Liz looked past him and sent flames out towards dobhar-chu as well. It gave a pained scream that matched his own.

*

            Tendo had to fight to keep his footing even as Hermann managed to stand still as if the ground wasn't trying to rend itself apart below them. Red and Chuck and joined the fray on the narrow ledge in an attempt to keep the spindly legged Precursors occupied. 

            Chuck and Mako were sidelined as the flying kaiju landed down in front of them, blocking them off from the Precursor closest to them as Red pounded the other's head in a few feet away. They were more vulnerable than the kaiju but their backup were quickly swarming down towards them as Tendo worked his way out to where Hermann stood. 

            The breach below them expanded, sparks of magic and electricity shooting out as the fabric of space was torn further open. Hermann turned his head to look at him as Tendo reached his side, eyes glowed blue as they stared at him with a saddened expression. 

            "Hermann, you have to stop." Tendo shouted it to him, had to steady himself as another rumble shook the ground beneath them. He needed to get through to Hermann, needed to get him to see what was happening and stop it before it was too late. 

            Tendo knew he wasn't going to be able to do what was necessary if he couldn't.

            "He cannot. He must let it through." Hermann spoke with a shake of his head. Another shake caused the platform to shift and Tendo felt a moment of panic that one or both of them would tumble down into that breach below. 

            He realized at the last second that the second Precursor had managed to break free from the fight as it brought one of its spindly legs down towards him. He dodged, ducked down and around Hermann to come out the other side to try and swipe a blade through one of it legs as it grabbed out at him. 

            Red blurred past, the flying kaiju trying to take off with him on its back as its tail swung wildly towards Mako and Chuck who didn't manage to duck in time. 

            Mako scrambled to catch him as they skidded downward a few feet and Red disappeared over the edge with the kaiju. Tendo rolled, tried to scramble towards where Mako was holding onto Chuck, trying to pull them both back up to more solid footing. 

            Mako gave him a panicked look that Tendo thought meant they were losing their grip but there was a sudden spark of pain as he felt one of those spindled legs stab through his thigh. He gave a snarl of pain and rage as he kicked away from the precursor. Tried to get some distance as it grabbed him up with its arms. 

            Tendo found the handle of one of his swords and swung it up. Tried to jab it down into the thing's chest as it lifted him up but it caught his wrist with a free hand. Wrenched the sword free so that it clattered and fell over the edge into oblivion before it tossed him back so he slammed against the wall. 

            It turned from him then. Turned to look down below as the earth gave another shutter. The kaiju that were fighting clumps of their people near the tunnel stopped to give a triumphant roar as well. Tendo struggled to his feet, felt his thigh throb as blood ran down along it as he looked to where Hermann stood. 

            Mako had managed to wrangle Chuck up to a better spot though their access to the platform had been crumbled and destroyed. They both stared down below them with looks of horror. 

            Red, who had been shrugged off by the kaiju, was righting himself several feet below them and to the right. Tendo saw him dust himself off before he froze to watch whatever was emerging from the breach. 

            Tendo carefully inched out towards the edge of the platform. Edged out closer to Hermann again as he kept his eyes on the distracted precursor's back. 

            The breach had expanded to fill the entire base of the bowl of the ruins below. From it a clawed foot reached up, grabbing onto the side and carelessly slamming down on top of several of the kaiju and men. Tendo hoped most of their team had managed to tuck back into the tunnel, had gotten out of the way before it had hit. 

            The kaiju rose up out of the depths, seemed impossibly large as it started to climbed its way free. Hermann stood precariously close to the edge; arms reached out as if welcoming it as fire licked up over the far wall of the ruins. 

*

            Liz was aware of someone calling her name somewhere in the distance as the fire raged. The dobhar-chu had thrashed violently as the fire ignited around it, as she burned it out as Newton had forced her to do. 

            Newton was slumped against her as the more controlled burn against his side faded and her senses started to return to her. Anger was the first thing that hit, a wave that almost sent the spark running through her once more and she had to carefully reel it back in. 

            Dobhar-chu thrashed a couple more time, crashed through the trees as it seemed to try and flee the inferno that had engulfed it. It left a path of destruction behind it, trees catching light along its trail. It wouldn't make it to its destination. Wouldn't make it to the water it sought as salvation before it perished. The anger faded at the realization and turned into fear and concern at Newton's weight dragging her down into the mud. She heard her name again, closer this time as Liz tried to keep her legs from giving out. 

            Jules appeared, closely followed by both of the Becket brothers and Abe as they came out of the trees in the opposite direction Dobhar-chu had gone. 

            She heard Newt mumble something just before the group reached them to pull them apart. Newton's side was seared flesh and cloth and the smell suddenly settled in. Caused a bit of sick to rise up in the back of her throat as it brought memories with it and she held him close to her as if she needed to protect him. 

            "What?" She spoke urgently, tried to get a sense for what he'd been saying as questions and voices surrounded them both. Jules tried to ease her away from him but Liz just held on tighter; she needed to know. She needed to know why he'd made her do it. Why he had sought her out and forced her hand. 

            "I had to burn it out and he has to end it..." Newt muttered the words, speech slurred as Raleigh helped lower him to the ground as Liz's legs finally gave under the fatigue and weight. Newt was pale and seemed on the verge of passing out as Abe knelt down to try and determine how bad the burns were. How far the damage spread.

            Liz fought against her own memories, tried to stay focused on the present instead of letting herself be dragged back into the past. She'd had it under control, had mastered it for years now only for it to be pulled out of her by force. It left the familiar taste of soot in her mouth as she watched Abe examine the injuries she had caused. 

*

            The precursor didn't appear to have noticed his slow, limping approach but Hermann had. Even as he continued to stand with arms wide as he held the breach open for the kaiju that was towering its way through, he had turned to look over his shoulder at Tendo. His eyes glowed that same pale blue that he had seen in Newton's as Tendo reached to snag a hold of him in fear that he'd fall with one of the tremors the earth was giving beneath them. 

            "Hermann, you have to fight this. You have to stop!" 

            "He had to burn it out..." 

            "Who? What do you mean, Hermann?" Tendo took another step closer, gave a gentle but insistent tug on the back of Hermann's shirt but he still remained planted where he stood on the edge of the platform. 

            "I fear it was too late but it was the only way. To burn it out. And now we have to end it." Tendo shook his head softly in confusion as he watched him. Hermann was turning away from him though and Tendo realized he was turning to look at the Precursor. He had a moment to react, a moment to grab hold of his remaining blade and drive it upwards as the Precursor sent another spike down towards him. It should have met its mark, almost did before it stopped an inch away from his chest while his own blade sank into the abdomen of the Precursor. 

            Red stood behind the Precursor, hands gripping and holding those spindled legs back as it gave a scream. Tendo shoved the sword upward, further into its chest before pulling his blade loose and Red shoved the Precursor off the side of the platform. Red stopped then to look at Hermann's back as the kaiju came level to them, half out of the breach already. 

            "Sorry, lover boy, but we have to stop this thing before it gets all the way through." 

            Tendo felt a tear of rage and panic as Red started towards Hermann. He understood that he was right, that there would be nothing they could do if the kaiju managed to claw its way free. He wasn't willing to accept Hermann was a sacrifice to be made in order to do so. 

            He ignored the searing pain in his leg as he stood, pushed forward to try and reach Hermann first as he ducked under Red's arm. If he could reach him maybe he could get him to snap out of it, to do something to stop the expanding breach below them. 

            Red tried to shove him out of the way, no malice seeming to have been intended, but with his injured leg Tendo stumbled and lost his footing. He tried to catch himself and Red, seeming to realize he'd misjudged, made an attempt to catch him as well but came up short as Tendo stumbled over the edge beside Hermann. 

            And didn't fall. Hermann's focus had shifted to him, the blue fading from his eyes as a desperate look crossed his face. He'd caught him and Tendo felt himself get pulled back onto the solid footing of the ledge in front of him. 

            Once he was safely on his feet Hermann looked past him at the monster that was climbing its way ever further out of the hole in reality. And at what felt like the last moment, Hermann suddenly clapped his hands back together. It was a sluggish movement as if he was forcing two walls together or was attempting to do the move underwater. With it came a moment where all sound seemed to stop before an epicenter of force seemed to balloon out from where he was standing. Red had to brace himself to keep from being blown back from them, clinging to the edge.  

            Hermann held onto him as the kaiju gave a scream of rage as it tried to pull itself the rest of the way free but the breach tore through it, cutting it in half, before the force seemed to collapsed down into a dark hole that started to pull everything inwards.

            They both stumbled as they were suddenly dragged forward by the force as rocks started to crumble down into dark beyond. Tendo slammed his sword into the ledge as it shudder and shifted beneath them in an attempt to find some purchase to anchor them as the kaiju fell backwards across the space to slump on the rocks. Red managed to grab onto them, dragged them back away from the edge as the platform started to cave. They clung to each other, desperate as the world shook around them and then…

            And then it all stopped. That black hole that had formed simply vanished and they were left with littered bits of ash and leaves falling down around them from the forest beyond the edge of the ruins. The remains of the kaiju slumped, catching several more of its smaller brethren under its weight. Tendo saw a few of the kaiju slip away, disappear into dark tunnels or over the top of the ruins but they all seemed to be running. Hiding themselves away. 

            Red had them both hugged against him as they stared in shock at the body of the kaiju. Heard the last few dredges of combat on the periphery as he lowered them both down to the ground. 

            Hermann gave a quiet noise that sounded like pain before he started to collapse and Tendo rushed to catch him. Both of them slumped down to the ground as his leg gave him a fresh twist of pain. He cradled Hermann, unconscious and peaceful looking, as the first hints of sunlight touched the horizon. 

*

            They had called in helicopters to bring what remained of the team back to the mainland from the island after find the boat had been swamped. There had been reports of small tsunamis caused by the seismic activity of the breach. Hermann worried over the damage caused though he understood that it would have been worse if he hadn’t managed to maintain some sort of control.

            His control had been tenuous. It had slipped away from him for a short while, pushed him back into the depths of his mind as he focused on trying to help Newton. If it hadn’t been for Tendo, he likely would have let the kaiju through entirely before enacting his plan to destroy it. Their weapon.

            Most of the trip back felt like a blank spot in his memory as if something had been burned out of him as well. They'd all been in rough shape by the end of it but Hermann felt as if he'd taken on the mental equivalent of a bulldozer. He'd been out for a solid seventy-two hours after the breach had closed, all the other breaches around the world following suit as whatever repercussions occurred on the other side seemed to shake them loose. There had been tremors suffered on their end as well and Hermann was attempting to deal with that. 

            He sat now in the dark on the helipad, staring out at the lights of the city in silence. He had slipped away from the others, had taken a chance to get a break. The group was having a small gathering as Alpha team prepared to finally head home after some time taken to recover.

            Hermann looked down at his hands now with a quiet sense of regret and fascination. He could still feel it even now, that new sense of power as if he was able to feel the very fabric of the world around him. He had wanted to be stronger but this was more than he had imagined.

            It had been woken up inside him though in ways he still didn’t really understand. He knew what the Precursor’s design had been but not why he had been the one to play that role in it. He was tempted to try more, to see if on his own he could manage different sort of feats, but at the same time he was frightened by the prospect.  

            Someone came to sit beside him and Hermann gave a quiet sigh as Liz's hand rested in his open palm. He didn’t say anything but let his hand link with hers for a moment and give it a gentle squeeze. Felt the regret that was there too; he'd been the one to put Newton on the task of having Liz burn the infection out of him. It had been the only way to assure it was removed entirely. Remove the source, dobhar-chu, and burn any remaining tendrils out. 

            "It’s been a long time since I felt like I wasn’t in control of my own power. I used to think the fire was something that signaled that I was somehow wrong. That I was inherently bad and it was my punishment. It felt like it was nothing but destructive and like I wasn't going to ever be able to control it." Liz spoke quietly, shifted to tuck her feet beneath her so she could curl up there besides him. 

            "I apologize for what happened. I realized it was the only way and was too caught up to think what the repercussions might be to you both if I set him on that course. Their influence on my judgement was stronger than I thought." 

            "I feel like I should blame you both for making me feel that way again. I think I'm going to blame them though. I know Newt and I know you. And it'd be unfair of me to hold you both accountable for something messing with your heads when we've had the same sort of shit happen to us in the past." 

            Hermann gave a soft hum in response, wasn't certain himself if it was an apology or understanding. All of them could be used as weapons against each other. All of them had that potential to be manipulated for the wrong designs. Hermann had just never been the one to be pressed that way and it didn't help that part of him felt thankful for it while also being slightly terrified of the opportunities it opened up. 

            "I wanted to push myself. To be more useful and be able to do more with my ability. I can't say this is what I expected or that I fully trust myself to use it." 

            "I'm pretty sure that's completely normal, Hermann, but I'm going to give you a word of warning. I tried for a long time to contain my powers, to deny them and hold them in and all that did was make it so I burned out of control. You've got to accept it and work with it to really get a hold of it all. If you try and lock it all back down where it was before it's going to rebel against you."

            “Do you wish that you all hadn’t returned to the BPRD? That you had remained retired instead?” It this occurrence had made him realized anything about their small team it was that he wasn’t the only one vulnerable. Certainly, he couldn’t take the hits as well as Tendo or charm someone into doing what he asked like Newton but all of them were at risk. At any point there was the chance one of them wouldn’t make it. He had been terrified at the thought of losing either of them.

            “Honestly? All the time. But I also remember what it was like when we were trying to just live our own lives. Not just for Red but for me as well. Seeing that there were things happening in the world and knowing we could be trying to help. He was going stir crazy and I just…Well, we have a balance now. We work, we both get the chance to do some good but when we go home, we live that quiet life. I’d like to try again someday but not yet.”

*

            A few weeks had passed since Alpha team had finally headed home and they had finally managed to sneak out for some time on their own. Newton sat, sipped at his smoothie he’d ordered at the diner after their evening of being out dancing at one of the local clubs. His side still ached, the scar running along his ribs where the infection had been burned out of him.

            Liz’s fire had burned true, had only taken the flesh that had been corrupted by the Precursor’s infection already. That and dobhar-chu. They had taken advantage of that magical connection he’d had with him. Had used it to leach into him and manipulate them both.

            And now dobhar-chu was gone. He was trying not to show how deeply that loss affected him. The tattoo had been completely destroyed in the process of severing that infection and only the hint of it remained around the edges of his scarring. He’d never lost one of his creatures before much less due to his own mistakes. It bore into him in a way that hurt more than the ache of his ribs.

            “Are you ready to go, sweetheart?” Newton blinked as Tendo stepped up beside him to place a hand on his shoulder. Hermann was lingering towards the door waiting for them after the two had gone to pay while he finished up. He nodded, shifted up from the booth so that he could join them both on the walk back towards the base.

            Tendo’s arm slipped around him and as they stepped towards the door Hermann reached a hand out for him as well. They moved out into the cool night air, the three of them linked close together, as they started on the trip back home.

            It wasn’t a long walk and it would lead them through the park that was usually quiet and peaceful this time of night. Newton felt Hermann give a soft shiver and he shifted, tugged him gently as he pulled away from Tendo so that Hermann was moved into the center. Newt cozied up against his side, put his arm around Hermann’s waist as Tendo did the same so they could help keep him a bit warmer.

            “I was thinking, if we are allowed, that the three of us could take a small vacation somewhere.” Hermann spoked up after a few moments, quiet and a bit uncertain sounding as he broached the topic. They hadn’t really ever taken a vacation before aside from small breaks between jobs where they didn’t have to worry.

            “Where are you thinking we could go?” Newt asked the question with a soft frown as he thought over the idea. It would be nice to get away for a while without there being some sort of pressing issue that needed to be dealt with.

            “I wouldn’t mind going back home to Germany for a while. Or even seeing somewhere new.”

            “I’ve always thought it’d be nice to see some of Europe. We’d have to see if we could get permission to go that far abroad. I don’t think we’d get away with sneaking out that far.” Tendo spoke thoughtfully as they moved down along the path. The lights illuminated the trail in patches ahead of them as they walked slowly, drawing out their remaining time before they returned home.          

            “I mean…we could try. There is a plane we could steal,” Newton said only half-jokingly. He wasn’t entirely certain how lenient Pentecost was going to be with them after what had happened. How willing he’d be to suddenly loosen the leash on them.

            “I don’t think that we should resort to drastic measures before we see whether we are given approval for a holiday away. Especially given the fact that none of us would know how to fly a plane were we to attempt to steal it.”  

            Hermann gave a soft laugh as he pulled them all to a slow stop. They were along the edges of the pond that stood in the middle of the park. The lights along the path reflected off the still surface as they moved off to the side to talk. Newton stared out at it, chewed lightly on a hang nail

            “Are you thinking of this being a sort of one-time thing or are you wanting to try and make it a routine? That we get a bit of time away from home together when we can?” Tendo asked the question as they clustered together quietly. Newton leaned into Hermann’s side, let his hands tangle in Tendo’s shirt on the other side of him.

            “I’d like it to be a routine. We’ve never been…stifled or strictly watched but we haven’t really been free to do as we want either. I’d like to have more of a balance if we can.”

            “A balance would be nice,” Newton said with a soft sigh. The last few weeks had felt pretty stifling though tonight was clearly them getting the all clear to return to a more normal status. Still, he’d welcome a break and a chance to see the country where both Hermann and Newton’s fathers had grown.

            “Then I think we should think on how we’d like to broach the subject with Pentecost. I don’t believe he will be unreasonable but it’s always best to go in with a plan. Something that doesn’t involve grand larceny.” Hermann gave him a soft squeeze with his arm as he draped it around him.

            “I’m sure I could figure out how to fly it. I’m just saying.” Newton said with a soft shrug which earned him a laugh from the other two.

            “I’ll copilot if it comes to that. I think either way it’d be nice to just…breathe for a bit.” Tendo spoke, seeming to wrap up the conversation as they all agreed. They’d have to come up with a compelling argument in case they did get any sort of push back. There was definitely a chance that they’d, at the very least, be expected to have escorts.

            Newton didn't feel as hopeful as Hermann and Tendo both seemed on the prospect of them getting a bit more time to exist outside of the base. Still, it was a nice thought as they started back through the park. He glanced out at the lake one more time as they started around the shore and for a moment thought he saw something out in the water. 

            It was about the size of a dog from what he could tell though its head was rounder. No pronounce ears on top as it seemed to peak above the surface. When it ducked under it made no sound and Newt wouldn't have thought it had been there at all if not the small ring of disturbance on the surface of the water. 

 


End file.
